Privacy & Security

BKC co-directors James Mickens and Jonathan Zittrain discussed today’s cybersecurity challenges at a recent event.

Plunkett discusses sharing kids’ data on social media

Zeynep Tufecki discusses college COVID-19 apps in an op-ed for The Atlantic.

Woodrow Hartzog and Neil Richards argue that Clearview AI is wrongfully trying to use the First Amendment to ensure a freedom to surveil at will.

Report from Quentin Palfrey and colleagues examines privacy risks of online education

Emma Day and colleagues share challenges related to the protection of children’s data during the COVID-19 pandemic

Leah Plunkett discusses privacy concerns about online education

Researchers share concerns about free services and public health interventions by tech companies

The #BigTech antitrust hearing and the path ahead for privacy

Bruce Schneier explains the recent Twitter hack

VentureBeat features research from BKC community members

Apryl Williams, Mutale Nkonde, and Allissa V. Richardson speak at event

Afsaneh Rigot says internet privacy and security measures are critical safety tools

Technological systems should be reimagined to include the needs and the rights of refugees, Dragana Kaurin argues.

Bruce Schneier talks end-to-end encryption with CNN

Quentin Palfrey led research study of more than 100 apps

Bruce Schneier on contact tracing apps:  “The smartphone is the most invasive surveillance device our species has ever invented. I don’t see what’s happening now…

BKC's Mary Gray on the role of corporations in public health and worker surveillance

Surveillance thrives in unequal environments, and the pandemic will increase inequality. We need a welfare state for our digital information economy, argues Beatriz Botero Arcila.

A legal, public health, and technical perspective from BKC’s Elizabeth Renieris.

Civil rights protections are as necessary in virtual spaces as in physical ones, Danielle Citron says

We shouldn’t risk our genetic privacy to find it, writes Ifeoma Ajunwa

Woodrow Hartzog warns about the long-term consequences of the apps

Woodrow Hartzog and Evan Selinger argue against using facial recognition to combat COVID-19

Danielle Citron and colleagues on the significance of deep fakes

Ifeoma Ajunwa on worker surveillance

Bruce Schneier shares insight into password security

Bruce Schneier spoke to The Hill about the use of digital contact tracing.

Bruce Schneier shares his opinion on contact tracing apps

When it comes to children’s privacy online, the law is spotty.

Without enough human contact tracers to identify infected people, the US is barreling toward a digital solution, and possible disaster.

Leah Plunkett on the importance of protecting child privacy while social distancing.

Beatriz Botero Arcila warns that while location data might help address the coronavirus outbreak, it also threatens the privacy of citizens.

A Vermont company uses artificial intelligence to identify messages of distress, including those made by Natick students.

BKC faculty associate Ifeoma Ajunwa explains why oversurveillance of a workforce can turn counterproductive

As tech firms team up with governments to fight the coronavirus pandemic, we’re being asked to accept a trade-off between our digital privacy and our health. It’s a false choice,…

Danielle Citron on why technology’s promise is only as good as those who control it

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an equally urgent digital rights crisis.

It’s time to move beyond individualistic approaches to data governance, writes Elizabeth Renieris

Part one of an exploration into the pathways and pitfalls for good global data protection in an evolving landscape.

Proposals that would let people sell their information seem empowering—but they aren’t, writes BKC’s Elizabeth Renieris.

The BKC fellow discusses cryptography with The Politic

Despite numerous predictions by industry analysts that “self-sovereign identity” (or “SSI”) would be a key trend by now, in reality there is still limited adoption outside of…

Fast Company cites BKC's Doc Searl’s blog post on Zoom and Privacy

Elizabeth Renieris considers the European Commission's recent communications regarding a universally accepted public electronic identity (eID)

More than 150 academics, scholars and tenured faculty from colleges across the country have signed an open letter that names and shames colleges for using facial recognition…

Applying core international human rights principles to coronavirus-related privacy interferences

Governments are increasingly using digital technologies and big data analytics to address the Covid-19 pandemic. At this stage of the pandemic, these technologies may not…

David O’Brien argues that the American government will have to walk a fine line if it wants to get useful information while still preserving citizens’ privacy rights.

Elizabeth Renieris argues it’s not just the government that is having to navigate these complex questions.

Why aren’t we better prepared?

BKC fellow Beatriz Botero Arcila on why getting compensated for your personal data is not a good idea.

Woodrow Hartzog argues that any US version of GDPR would, in practice, be something of a GDPR-lite.

Elizabeth Renieris on why we should not celebrate Google's move to remove third-party cookies from Chrome

Mutale Nkonde spoke to Coindesk about surveillance capitalism and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

As the growing scale of facial recognition shows, more data can always be extracted.

Dragana Kaurin speaks to the problems that arise when law enforcement uses location data.

Elizabeth Renieris on what BIPA and SyRI-related developments tell us about the future of privacy

Elizabeth Renieris warns that a new product offering companies working on Web 3 a way to send in-app notifications and targeted emails may be rebuilding what blockchain set out to…

The whole point of modern surveillance is to treat people differently, and facial recognition technologies are only a small part of that.

Faculty associate Woodrow Hartzog spoke to the New York Times about the harrowing consequences of facial recognition

The deadly December shooting of three U.S. sailors at a Navy installation could reignite a long-simmering fight between the federal government and tech companies over data privacy…

The network has plenty of other security weaknesses, including ones the U.S. doesn’t want to fix since they help its own surveillance efforts.

Faculty associate Leah Plunkett joins The Jefferson Exchange to discuss the problems with parents creating a digital dossier that could follow their kids for life. …

Elizabeth Renieris on why a blockchain-based identity layer for the web could have unintended consequences.

A theory of digital ID premised on Helen Nissenbaum’s theory of privacy

Leah Plunkett on how you should navigate your child's digital footprint. “To save their childhood, youth today need us, their parents, to fight against our …

David O’Brien says password sharing is highly inadvisable.

David O’Brien talks password security with Gizmodo

As implants grow more common, experts fear surveillance and exploitation of workers.

Danielle Citron reflects on her career, current events, and the future

Leah Plunkett discusses her new book with WNYC

Leah Plunkett talks about her new book, Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk About Our Kids Online.

Leah Plunkett shares tips for navigating technology when it comes to kids

We will never get the policy right if policymakers get the technology wrong, Bruce Schneier says.

While the social media platform’s latest approach to facial recognition appears to respect user’s choices, the offer is so tainted we can’t truly agree to it

When it comes to 5G technology, we have to build a trustworthy system out of untrustworthy parts

Leah Plunkett urges parents to stop and think before sharing family photos, stories, and data online.

The public policy case for limited legal interventions in the indemnification of categories of cyber harm

China is more likely to try to get data from the US communications infrastructure, says Bruce Schneier

Valentin Weber tracks the global diffusion of repressive information controls and techniques

You can’t eliminate all the personal data your phone collects and shares about you. But you can limit it.

As synthetic biology "programming" reaches the complexity of traditional computer programming, the risks of computer systems will transfer to biological systems.

What happens when the slow telos of parenthood meets the insatiable rhythms of social media?

Why oversharing about children today could end up hurting them for years to come.

Bruce Schneier comments on election security for NPR

The distinction between military and consumer products largely doesn't exist

BKC report proposes responsible privacy-protective approaches for cities

Faculty associate explains why FERPA is difficult to enforce

With election meddling inevitable in 2020, the United States needs a powerful kill chain

Non-internet-connected election systems are actually connected to the internet

Can insurance companies refuse to cover the costs of a cyberattack linked to nation-state actors?

The Enterprisers Project highlights Bruce Schneier’s Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust that Society Needs to Thrive

Apple is testing new sign-in options for iCloud, but there are privacy concerns

Local governments must protect your privacy as they turn to “smart city” technology.

We’ll have to battle both the disease and the fake news, writes BKC’s Bruce Schneier

AI can flag people based on their clothing or behavior, identify people's emotions, and find people who are acting "unusual”

The belief that China’s surveillance gives it an advantage is misleading—and dangerous, argues Bruce Schneier

Henry Farrell and BKC’s Bruce Schneier write a Forum Response to reactions to their earlier essay

As Microsoft works on cloud security, it’s looking to attract `White Hat’ hackers with rewards and legal guarantees.

A new paper used YouTubers’ voices to guess what they looked like. Was it ethical? Casey Fiesler weighs in.

The controversy over telecommunications equipment from Chinese manufacturer Huawei is just the tip of a large cyber risk iceberg, Bruce Schneier warns.

As San Francisco halts city use of facial recognition technology, CIOs could see more regulatory actions against surveillance technology -- and more limits on their use of data.

While are benefits of “smart” technology, they also afford companies significant control over the devices.

Gretchen Greene lends insight into the adoption of facial recognition technology in police departments across the U.S.

Ad tracking services are disturbingly effective.

How the vast amount of data collected from refugees is gathered, stored and shared today

Envelopes are one of those banal objects of everyday life we seldom think much about. They are, however, an ancient — and at one time controversial — privacy technology.

Billions of users interact with and download apps on major app stores on a daily basis. It is important for them to know why certain apps that they might have been using, or would…

Thanks to “data inference” technology, companies know more about you than you disclose.

"It's dangerous, racializing, and has few legitimate uses; facial recognition needs regulation and control on par with nuclear waste."

Some algorithms assume crime in one location leads to others nearby. Others identify specific people most likely to be involved in violence. Both can lead to discrimination.

Defining predicate singling out, a new type of privacy attack intended to capture the concept of singling out appearing in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Ben Green's work as a data scientist in city governments informed his critical view of the "smart city" tech that could influence city life and society for decades to come.

Ben Green argues that cities are adopting “smart” technology without thinking through the political ramifications of the technology.

Academics and campaigners condemned large chunks of the indictment that they said went head-to-head with basic activities of journalism protected by the first amendment of the US…

Making smart speakers and technologies smarter, but what about privacy?

How the government, or regulators, can start thinking about privacy and the data economy

Five tips to secure your phone - it might not keep a foreign country determined to strike away, but it will strengthen your security.

An unsolicited picture shared over Apple's AirDrop leads to questions over how the technology is governed.

How do we expand the benefits of machine learning, while protecting privacy?

Anything “public” on social media may be fair game, but researchers should be more ethical about using that data

A recently unveiled proposal for regulating the Internet of Things in the US falls short in some areas, but could make some significant strides towards advancing the status quo

Some critics worry the new privacy push is also a way to dodge regulation and avoid moderating content: “The devil is in the details.”

Innovation can mean more than just "use new technology."

You’ve probably never heard of many of the data firms registered under a new law, but they’ve heard a lot about you.

Change is a constant in the security industry, and being willing to change as needed is one of the key growth factors in any business — large or small.

The requirements of the GDPR are increasingly coming into conflict with the requirements of research communities

Christine Borgman comments on the feasibility of California's "data dividends" proposal

We should not trust an algorithm unless it can be reviewed and audited in meaningful ways.

The US might get a federal privacy bill this year

When it comes to children’s school data we should ask who controls it, what is it worth and how will it impact their lives.

Should Congress and federal agencies be sharing and receiving more with platforms like Facebook to aid them in enforcing better moderation policies?

"Facebook needs to change how it handles user data and personal information."

In the last decade, India has seen multiple rounds of communal violence in which rumour and information technology played a role

A research agenda for stakeholders to proactively collaborate and design AI technologies that work with users to improve their health and wellbeing

Berkman Klein Fellow Titi Akinsanmi discusses how policy for digital ID could develop in 2019 and what she hopes to see globally and on the African continent.

The story we tell about our right to privacy an interesting one, but distracts us away from work that needs to be done. 

The recent partnership between privacy-focused search tool Duck Duck Go and Apple has an uncertain implications for the future of privacy on the engine.

A profile of "Data Cowboy" Ram Shankar Siva Kumar, who trains security algorithms

"US lawmakers need to embrace a different approach to Internet privacy based around the concept of trust, rather than the failed concepts of notice and choice."

The world is ever more connected via the internet, from cars and power grids to home appliances and toys. That means ever more things are dangerously hackable.

A new bill "leverages federal purchasing power to create pro-security market pressure and … serves as a model for the implementation of similar standards elsewhere."

Guaranteeing people’s confidentiality has become more of a challenge, but some scholars worry that the new system will impede research.

We are immersed in an evolving, ongoing conflict: an Information World War in which state actors, terrorists, and ideological extremists leverage the social infrastructure…

The Kremlin has been focused on undermining trust in American democracy and elections, but Donald Trump and the Republicans have done it better than Russia ever could.

How surveillance hurts our democratic values

The same fake news techniques that benefit autocracies by making everyone unsure about political alternatives undermine democracies by making people question the common political…

David O’Brien on tools used by law enforcement to crack into suspects' personal digital devices

Making Internet-connected devices more secure will require smarter regulations

Our Youth & Media team looked at how teens are using social media to figure out who they are.

Scaling up computer security arguments to the level of the state, so that the entire polity is treated as an information system with associated attack surfaces and threat models,…

Online tech platforms should become “information fiduciaries”

All phones are vulnerable to hacking

BKC shares insights on privacy with governments at the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners

Mailyn Fidler writes about First Amendment interests in a recent case regarding whistleblowing.

A role for antitrust authorities in the third party tracking industry

Who makes sure that companies collecting your personal data operate in ways that benefit, rather than exploit, you?

Privacy still exists. You just have to know where to look for it so you know what to fight for.

If our devices, information, and institutions are to remain secure, smart government regulation is inevitable

India is attempting to create a complex new framework for data protection that will require firms to physically host user data, but they might be moving too fast.

To really prioritize user privacy would also mean to compromise an underlying business model that has been very successful

Internet companies need "information fiduciaries" to ensure that the consumer's best interest is kept at heart.

Despite largely negative media coverage of the subject, it is a good thing that TSA is brainstorming ways to optimize security in airports

Exploring the emergence of consumer surveillance

Regulating, not banning, facial recognition technology

Faculty Associate Primavera De Filippi joins a debate discussing Blockchain, what it is, and whether it is deserving of its current hype.

Privacy is an effect of personal agency, projected by personal tech and personal expressions of intent that others can respect without working at it

It is urgent that Boston develop policies that comprehensively account for what surveillance means today.