Privacy in the age of Big Data

[flere-imsaho]

I seem to get a piece of mail every other week saying my data was involved in a breach and here's a code for a few months of credit monitoring. It's completely ridiculous.

[Kodos]

We need laws to limit what data can be collected. The only safe data is data that was never collected in the first place.

[Atocep]

My social has been leaked so many times I trust the people it leaked to with it more than anyone else.

[flere-imsaho]

IMO, there need to be heavy penalties for organizations that have data breaches and those funds need to go towards something that will help people with identity theft and scams.

[bhlloy]

I did some work for an acquisition that was one of the largest background check companies on the west coast. Nothing about these companies being hacked and shitting their data all over the internet could ever surprise me. Bar maybe one other notable example the absolute worst tech and shittiest attitudes I’ve ever seen in 15 years in the field.

Oh and it was all free because they weren’t willing to put a cent towards architecture or support. So yeah, that should probably tell you something as well.

[Edward64]

I haven't seen this in mainstream press yet (in DM, NY Post) but the AppleInsider article is pretty alarming if true. It's not clear to me if there are apps that do this now or if only in the concept stage.

Facebook ad partner Cox could listen to a user's conversations

A slide deck from Cox Media Group seen by 404 Media discusses a service it offered that effectively performed surveillance on a user. Called "Active Listening," the document leak says it could use a device's microphone to listen in to a user's speech whenever they are within audible range.

The idea was that the specialist software would capture voice data from the environment, determining what was being discussed or mentioned. That information would then be paired with existing behavioral data stored in a profile of the user, which in turn allowed for more tailored advertising to be displayed.

This included a blog post from November 2023 discussing how it was legal for phones and devices to listen to users. It also mentioned "When a new app download or update prompts consumers with a multi-page term of use agreement, somewhere in the fine print, Active Listening is often included."

Supposedly not (or that big of) an issue for Apple stuff but more Android.

While the prospect of mobile devices listening in could be a privacy nightmare, it's not one that would affect Apple users.

Besides Apple's usual stance on ensuring user privacy is maintained wherever possible, it also has systems in place to prevent such privacy abuses even occurring.

Whenever a microphone is active, Apple's devices display an indicator alerting the user to the activity. This can include an orange dot on an iPhone screen when the mic is being used, to a green indicator for the camera.

Even though Apple hardware is pretty much in the clear here, other hardware platforms may still use it. With billions of Android devices in the world, your conversations may still be snooped by advertisers.

[Kodos]

https://clark.com/credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/

As far as data breaches go, one thing you can do is freeze your credit with the three major bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. That way, nobody can open a line of credit in your name using info from the breaches. I did it for me and the wife. It took and hour or so for each of us. Unfreezing your account is fairly simple if you’re in the market for a new car or whatever. You can even unfreeze your credit for a short period and have it refreeze automatically

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Kodos

How To Freeze and Unfreeze Your Credit With Experian, Equifax and TransUnion

As far as data breaches go, one thing you can do is freeze your credit with the three major bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. That way, nobody can open a line of credit in your name using info from the breaches. I did it for me and the wife. It took and hour or so for each of us. Unfreezing your account is fairly simple if you’re in the market for a new car or whatever. You can even unfreeze your credit for a short period and have it refreeze automatically

I recently did this too and it was fairly easy. That's a really nice guide.

I would also recommend everyone use a password manager like 1password. That way you can have crazy complex passwords for every account and no duplication.

[sovereignstar v2]

Yeah, the freezing and thawing of the major bureaus has gotten so much easier than it used to be. There really isn't any excuse not to anymore.

[Silver Owl]

On that note, just got a notification today that my SSN was found on the dark web. Have had a credit freeze for years so I guess that is good.

[Kodos]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/27/how-...ta-breach.html

Another article with more info about why freezing your credit is a good idea.