Post by Admin on Dec 16, 2016 8:06:50 GMT -9
Is your personal data ever really private?
Americans can’t be blamed for questioning whether their digital data is ever entirely secure.
Yahoo (YHOO) on Wednesday disclosed a three-year-old security breach that compromised 1 billion user accounts. The same day, popular note-taking app Evernote changed its privacy policy, disclosing that engineers that oversee machine-learning programs may look at customer data to improve the service, causing a firestorm among its customers.
Both cases highlight the importance of understanding how companies approach personal data. Because online identities are always at risk, consumers should take steps to protect themselves, especially when it comes to sensitive data linked to financial accounts or email, cybersecurity experts say.
Personal data isn’t under threat only from hackers. It can also be imperiled by corporate privacy policies or user agreements.
“Privacy and marketing are often are at polar odds with each other,” said Paul Calatayud, chief technology officer of Overland Park, Kansas-based FireMon. “It’s important as a consumer in general to understand the services that you’re taking advantage of and figure out what the monetization could be. For example, when Google came out with their version of Picasa, their initial licensing said any photo you uploaded became theirs.”
Can you trust Yahoo after a hack affecting 1 billion users?
Any service that is free -- such as Yahoo’s email -- often comes with marketing or data permissions that allow the company to analyze or sell customers’ information, he noted. “If it looks too good to be true because it’s free, they are most likely monetizing some of your data,” Calatayud said.
Evernote is currently coping with a backlash from customers after changing its privacy policy, with some customers taking to social media and vowing to close their accounts in response. The reason? Evernote said it’s adding machine learning to create new features, and some of its employees may need to review customer data “to make sure everything is working exactly as it should.”
Evernote’s privacy policy isn’t unusual, although the way the company disclosed the latest tweak “maybe made it more unique, and people are riled up about it,” said Aaron Tantleff, information security and privacy lawyer at Foley & Lardner. “If you go through privacy policies, there is always the ability to access information for law environment” or other purposes.
Tantleff added, “People should understand that with a free service, you are still paying for it, and you are paying for it with your data.”
Americans can’t be blamed for questioning whether their digital data is ever entirely secure.
Yahoo (YHOO) on Wednesday disclosed a three-year-old security breach that compromised 1 billion user accounts. The same day, popular note-taking app Evernote changed its privacy policy, disclosing that engineers that oversee machine-learning programs may look at customer data to improve the service, causing a firestorm among its customers.
Both cases highlight the importance of understanding how companies approach personal data. Because online identities are always at risk, consumers should take steps to protect themselves, especially when it comes to sensitive data linked to financial accounts or email, cybersecurity experts say.
Personal data isn’t under threat only from hackers. It can also be imperiled by corporate privacy policies or user agreements.
“Privacy and marketing are often are at polar odds with each other,” said Paul Calatayud, chief technology officer of Overland Park, Kansas-based FireMon. “It’s important as a consumer in general to understand the services that you’re taking advantage of and figure out what the monetization could be. For example, when Google came out with their version of Picasa, their initial licensing said any photo you uploaded became theirs.”
Can you trust Yahoo after a hack affecting 1 billion users?
Any service that is free -- such as Yahoo’s email -- often comes with marketing or data permissions that allow the company to analyze or sell customers’ information, he noted. “If it looks too good to be true because it’s free, they are most likely monetizing some of your data,” Calatayud said.
Evernote is currently coping with a backlash from customers after changing its privacy policy, with some customers taking to social media and vowing to close their accounts in response. The reason? Evernote said it’s adding machine learning to create new features, and some of its employees may need to review customer data “to make sure everything is working exactly as it should.”
Evernote’s privacy policy isn’t unusual, although the way the company disclosed the latest tweak “maybe made it more unique, and people are riled up about it,” said Aaron Tantleff, information security and privacy lawyer at Foley & Lardner. “If you go through privacy policies, there is always the ability to access information for law environment” or other purposes.
Tantleff added, “People should understand that with a free service, you are still paying for it, and you are paying for it with your data.”