Data Security and Privacy with the Privacy Professor

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Amazing Cryptography and Codebreaker Pioneer: Elizebeth Friedman Mar 12, 2019

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Elizebeth Smith Friedman was an amazing cryptography expert and codebreaker who changed the course of World War II. She also used her groundbreaking work to bust international smuggling & drug running throughout the world. In this episode we discuss some of the valuable contributions Ms. Friedman made to cybersecurity that, until only recently, were overlooked and unappreciated. • What are the major successes and accomplishments of Elizebeth Friedman? • In what ways would history would have been changed if Elizebeth Friedman had not made her contributions? • What is something surprising about Elizebeth Friedman’s life? Tune in to hear the answers to these questions, in addition to learning a whole lot more. And, since March is Women’s History Month, what a great time to learn more about this amazing woman and her impact on history!

Huge Risks From SaaS Orgs With No Test Regions or Change Controls Mar 05, 2019

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This 2nd in a series of shows on applications and systems engineering, coding, and maintenance looks once more at a few different topics within applications change controls including: What types of testing of new and changed applications code are necessary to ensure limited possibility of negative impacts to those using the application, as well as others using applications on the same server, and to the associated data and systems? What is regression testing, and when is it necessary within the change control process? What is the primary goal of testing new and changed applications testing? What are “local variables” and “global variables” as they relate to applications testing? What are test-coverage monitors, and when should they be used? Why is using live production data usually a horribly bad idea? Rebecca discusses these and related issues with Dr. Mich Kabay in this episode.

Is AI a Friend or Foe to Information Security and Privacy? Feb 26, 2019

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There are unlimited possibilities for using artificial intelligence (AI), for the benefit of a few, to benefiting large populations. Many in the information security sector are hopeful that AI can strengthen cybersecurity efforts. But, can they also be used to exploit cybersecurity vulnerabilities? And what about privacy? Will AI be used more to invade privacy, or to protect privacy? Considering these issues, and certainly there are many more to consider, just how accurate are all those AI tools being offered? How are AI algorithms validated as being dependable and/or accurate? Are they biased? Is it possible to have unbiased AI? What are the consequences of something going wrong with AI? What are current trends in AI? Rebecca discusses these and related issues with Dr. John Cook in this episode.

No Change Control is Like Playing with Fire in a Dynamite Factory Feb 19, 2019

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Increasingly more often over the past couple of decades, organizations have been eliminating software and systems change controls, often as executive decisions to save money. Too many are making changes in applications directly within the production environment, especially SaaS businesses, with complex and multiple services offerings. When separate test environments are not used, numerous risks are created for all involved, not to mention being compliance violations under many legal requirements. What are the basic components that should be part of a change control management process? What are the risks involved when making changes to software code within production environments? How can doing insufficient testing lead to breaches, and lost client data and access to online services? What lessons can be learned about change controls from the Vanguard Rocket? Rebecca discusses these and related issues with Dr. Dan Shoemaker in this episode.

Backdoors in Cybersecurity Tools Gives Privacy Only to Outlaws Feb 12, 2019

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The Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption tool became freely available in 1991, drastically improving data security. It also stirred the ire of US government folks who could not surveil on the encrypted data. Dr. Philip Zimmermann, PGP creator, was then made target of a 3-year criminal investigation, while PGP became the most widely used email encryption software in the world. Worldwide attempts to compel tech companies to create weakened encryption has continued to increase in the name of safety. How does weakened security tech degrade the privacy of the population? Do terrorists & crooks use those weakened encryption tools? What are more effective ways of accessing communications of criminals & terrorists? How does weak encryption support surveillance worldwide? How is VoIP privacy impacted? What are some strong encryption tools available to consumers? What can support government adoption of strong encryption? Rebecca discusses these & related issues with Dr. Philip Zimmermann.

Will Australias Encryption Law Kill Privacy in Name of Safety? Feb 05, 2019

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Government leaders & law enforcement are trying to force tech companies to put backdoors in encryption in the name of public safety. There are 750,000 law enforcement employees & 1/2 million US intelligence agencies community employees who may use those backdoors, & likely many others worldwide. Strong encryption is available throughout the world. If businesses & general public are forced to use encryption with back doors, will cybercrooks will be the only ones using strong encryption; those the backdoors were intended to be used on to begin with? How will Australia’s new law requiring encryption backdoors impact data security & privacy? Who has oversight of that law? How will it impact other countries? Does any evidence prove encryption backdoors have improved safety/security? Rebecca discusses these and related issues with Dr. Katina Michael, Arizona State University director of the Centre for Engineering, Policy and Society. Katina is also a privacy and uberveillance pioneer.

Will You Sacrifice Your Privacy When Purchasing Cannabis? Jan 29, 2019

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Medical cannabis is legal in 33 US states, Washington, D.C., & 4 US territories. Ten states allow legalized sale of adult use marijuana. Many more are projected to legalize in 2019. Those using cannabis dispensaries assume their personal data is secured, and many incorrectly believe paying cash will leave no record of the purchases. Many risks exist to the security & privacy of those purchasing cannabis when strong security & privacy controls haven’t been implemented. Many breaches have already occurred. What is a typical visit to a cannabis store like, and where are the data security and privacy risks? What needs to be done to better secure the data that dispensaries collect, store, and share with others? How can the privacy of dispensary patients & customers be protected? Rebecca discusses these and related issues with Michelle Dumay, cannabis industry privacy and security advocate and advisor. Michelle also provides a case study using an example from an Ohio dispensary.

GDPR, Data Privacy Day and The Need for Privacy Jan 22, 2019

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2018 privacy hero of the year, Tara Taubman-Bassirian, discusses the EU GDPR, the increasing need for protecting privacy in the increasingly technology-rich environment, and some activities for Data Privacy Day on January 28, 2019. What are the benefits of GDPR? Where can it be improved upon? What do companies struggle with most for GDPR compliance? What is a “hot potato” GDPR issue? How are binding corporate rules (BCRs) used for non-adequate countries? How has Brexit impacted GDPR compliance? Why does privacy matter? What are the current largest threats to privacy? What are some activities for Data Privacy Day? Hear Tara discuss these topics, and more, with Rebecca.

Data Security and Privacy Ethics in Computing Jan 15, 2019

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There have been concerns about the ethical use of technology, data, and the results of processing for many decades. We are now dealing with additional emerging ethical issues involving big data analytics, artificial intelligence and the associated biases, the use of personal data found online that is not protected, and also for data that is generated by and transmitted through smart devices, and so many other situations. Are there generational differences in computing ethics? How do computing ethics impact data security and privacy? What are the security and privacy ethical concerns for big data analytics and artificial intelligence? Lynn Fountain discusses these, and many more related topics, with Rebecca in this episode. Lynn also provides information about her latest book, Ethics and the Internal Auditor's Political Dilemma: Tools and Techniques to Evaluate a Company's Ethical Culture published by CRC Press.

2019 Information Security Forecast: Worldwide and In Colombia Jan 08, 2019

Show notes

What will 2019 bring with regard to information security and privacy threats and trends? What is digital density? What are the security dangers for APIs? What kind of surveillance activities, if any, take place in Colombia? What are common privacy practices and regulations for both the US and Colombia? What international cybersecurity threats exist to all countries? Listen in to hear Dr. Jeimy Cano’s five major 2019 information security and privacy predictions. Dr. Cano will also describe what we all need to look out for with regard to cybersecurity and privacy during the year ahead. Also hear about some of the cybersecurity and privacy activities in his home country, Colombia.

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