Data Security and Privacy with the Privacy Professor

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Voter Fraud Facts No One is Talking About…Until Now Apr 03, 2021

Show notes

In 2021 there have been at least 253 voting bills proposed in at least 43 US states. These bills are restricting voting methods, times, and even criminalizing such practices as the provision of food and drink to those who are in waiting line for hours to vote. All due to “concerns about voter fraud,” even though hundreds of audits, hundreds of ballot recounts, and hundreds of independent voting machine security assessments have found no voter fraud. What security measures are actually established for poll centers on voting day? For early voting locations? And for mail-in and absentee voting ballots? What would election officials tell you about those images and videos claiming to be evidence? Are they really evidence? Or, are they bogus? And how can you tell? Can boxes of ballots actually be brought into election centers and processed? What controls are in place for elections centers where ballots are collected, processed, and sorted? Listen in as Genya Coulter, named as one of the Top 25 Women in Election Security and Tech, as well as being the Polk County, Florida, Election Clerk who oversees all her precinct operations and manages her team during election season, answers these and many more questions, as well as describes the facts about voting and ballot security controls, and answers questions about voting fraud claims during the 2020 US election during this conversation with Rebecca. Follow Genya on Twitter: @ElectionBabe

Fighting US Elections & Campaigns Interference with Cybersecurity Mar 06, 2021

Show notes

There continue to be more lessons to learn from the past 8+ years of election cycles in the US. Lessons that can be applied throughout the world, about the need to build in strong security and privacy protections to the associated processes, systems, and physical components of elections to strengthen democracy as well as to establish verifiable and validated election results. The FBI reports verified election interference attempts and goals of China, Russia, Iran & domestic groups; often through election candidates’ campaign organizations and associated groups. What kind of interference is targeting campaigns and candidates? How does strengthening security practices help to prevent these interference goals from being fulfilled? What is the goal and mission for CyberDome? Why is US CyberDome well-suited to help fight interference with election campaigns? Listen in as Matt Barrett, co-founder of US CyberDome, provides insights, research findings, advice to campaigns, and describes the goals of CyberDome to protect election campaigns during this conversation with Rebecca.

Healthcare CISOs: Securing Patient Data & HIPAA Compliance Feb 06, 2021

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Health data is considered personal data gold to cybercrooks. Hospitals, clinics and telehealth situations involve a lot of complexity that brings many threats and vulnerabilities to patient data. • Is your healthcare and patient data safe? • Are hospitals and clinics doing all they can to protect your data? • What would you like to ask your hospital about this? • Would they know how to answer? • Are HIPAA requirements effective for protecting patient data? Listen in as Mitch Parker, a healthcare security expert and executive at multiple large hospital systems, provides answers to these questions and more. Mitch will cover longtime, current and emerging challenges for corporate information security officers (CISOs) at the largest hospitals as well as the smallest, rural clinics. Mitch also provides insights and his thoughts on HIPAA updates during this conversation with Rebecca.

Holding Privacy Events in a Pandemic World Jan 02, 2021

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For Data Privacy Day month Rebecca is speaking with Kim Hakim, CEO & Founder of FutureCon Events, about how she handled needing to move...almost overnight!...all her 2020 conferences to being online events at the beginning of 2020 when COVID-19 started spreading through the USA. Kim also discusses some of the key privacy issues she had to address when doing so. Kim will also describe the most requested privacy topics for the FutureCon events. Some topics covered in this episode include: • What makes FutureCon events unique from all other cybersecurity and privacy events? • What were the most requested topics in 2020 & for the upcoming 2021 events? • What are the inventive ways that Kim arranged for online FutureCon event attendees to interact with speakers & sponsors? • What makes a great cybersecurity and privacy speaker? • What advice does Kim have for those who want to be speakers at cybersecurity and privacy conferences? Tune in to hear these topics covered, and much more!

How A Trail-Blazing STEM Mentor Is Revolutionizing Cybersecurity Dec 05, 2020

Show notes

The numbers of women & people of color are still a woefully small percentage of the IT and cyber/data/network/applications security workforce. Such lack of diversity results in weak and flawed IT, security and privacy practices, applications, networks, and data protection. Rebecca discusses the related issues with cybersecurity expert, industry leader & long-time mentor, Dr. Cheryl Cooper: • What is Dr. Cooper working to change in society with her mentoring work? • Many displaced workers in their 40s, 50s and beyond, with no IT or cybersecurity background would like to start a cybersecurity career. What advice does Dr. Cooper have for them? • What are common challenges that all ages of women and people of color face in cybersecurity careers & what type of support do members of WINS provide to them? • What is Dr. Cooper’s greatest achievement in her career? • What advice does Dr. Cooper have for those who would like a career in cybersecurity but do not know where to start?

How Cybercriminals Take Advantage of the COVID-19 Pandemic Nov 07, 2020

Show notes

With 2020 being the year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it has also become the year of globally widespread working from home offices, and attending school online from home. Cybercrime is increasing dramatically in many ways never before seen as a result of these quickly established new working and learning environments. • How has cybercrime increased since the COVID-19 pandemic started becoming noticed? • Which new types of cybercrimes were created to take advantage of the many different COVID-19 circumstances? • What do Europol and Interpol research reports reveal about cybercrimes? • Are existing laws insufficient for new types of cybercrimes? Rebecca discusses these issues, and many more about cybercrime, with world renown cybercrime expert and member of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime expert team, Pauline Reich. Contact Pauline at: cyberasia2@gmail.com

Data Proves Voting Fraud is Rare; Don’t Believe Conspiracy Theories Claiming Otherwise Oct 03, 2020

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Voter fraud conspiracy theories have reached a fever pitch. There are even claims that mail-in ballots are “a scam.” What’s the truth? Voting security experts & researchers Jennifer Kavanagh & Quentin Hodgson describe in-depth research revealing verifiable facts about security of all types of voting including absentee/mail-in, voting machines & paper at polling locations, & drop boxes. They provide research results for questions such as: • How are voter registration databases kept up-to-date & when do errors occur? • How is signature matching done? Can poll workers throw out ballots claiming signature mismatches then submit different ballots for the voter? • How can voters determine if their mailed-in ballots were rejected because of a signature mismatch prior to election day? • What controls do poll workers follow? Are “poll watchers” who interact with voters legal? • Is it possible for someone to send “unsolicited millions of ballots”? • Does “ballot harvesting” actually occur?

Surveillance Pandemic: How Tech Giants Collect & Use Personal Data for Profiling & Huge Profits Sep 05, 2020

Show notes

Since 2018 Rebecca has invited many tech giants to explain if & how they are collecting & selling personal data to govt & other entities to profile & target subsets of populations while making huge profits. For example, one tech company reportedly made over $1.6 billion from the US federal government from 2017 – 2019. No tech company has accepted the invitations. However, Mijente, which has performed significant research into tech surveillance activities, agreed to answer questions such as: • How widespread is the collection of everyone’s personal data? • What companies are providing personal data to the tech organizations? • Why don’t the data sources notify the general population about all the entities to whom everyone’s data is being shared & used? • How is tech being used to surveil & monitor specific populations? • How have people been harmed by resulting actions from surveillance of personal data? Hear Rebecca discuss these questions and more with Jacinta González from Mijente.

COVID-19 Contact Tracing: Privacy & Security Risks Aug 01, 2020

Show notes

Tech giants & startups are quickly releasing “cutting edge” COVID-19 tracing tools. Some states have built their own tracing tools. COVID-19 tracing is absolutely necessary to get the pandemic under control. But are those tools secure? Will the privacy of the individuals’ health data be protected? • What tracing tools are being used? Which best protect privacy? Which put privacy at risk? • How do certain phones and operating systems put patient data from tracing tools at risk? • What are the concerns for location tracking? Is location tracking even necessary for effective COVID tracing? • What are some COVID-19 tracing conspiracy theories? Hear uberveillance, privacy and security expert, Dr. Katina Michael, professor at Arizona State University and National Science Foundation funded researcher, answer these questions and more about COVID-19 tracing tools and the related privacy risks and considerations. Read some of her research about this topic at https://bit.ly/3hG1FHb

Voting by Mail Security: Busting Myths and Explaining Facts Jul 11, 2020

Show notes

In the midst of a deadly pandemic mail-in voting would be the safest way to vote. However, many warn that voting by mail will lead to wide-spread fraud and lost votes. Is this true, or are they baseless claims? What is true, and what are pure conspiracy theories and lies? Amber McReynolds, one of the country’s leading experts on election administration, policy & security, discusses the risks of voting by mail along with the benefits, security, and myths. Some topics covered: • How are requests for mail-in ballots confirmed to be from the actual voter? • How much fraud has actually occurred in voting by mail? • How can voter suppression be mitigated when voting by mail? • What are the security controls for mail in ballots received at elections headquarters? • Is “ballot stuffing” and counting counterfeit ballots actually happening? • In what ways are mail-in voting more secure than in-person voting, and vice versa? Hear Amber's many years of experiences & research on this topic.

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