Privacy & Security

Bruce Schneier and Tarah Wheeler critique the lack of power granted to the White House's Cyber Safety Review Board.

Presenting at CSU, San Bernardino, Elodie Vialle highlights the risks of allowing harassment and violence against journalists to go unchecked.

Isadora Borges Monroy writes about the tension between expanding surveillance and protecting democracy.

Diana Freed sits down with Ethan Zuckerman to talk about digital safety for young people and survivors of intimate partner violence.

Petra Molnar discusses AI surveillance at the border.

Bruce Schneier writes about a recent potential cybersecurity catastrophe.

Florian Martin-Bariteau evaluates the Online Harms Act, a complex proposal to protect Canadians online.

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier and Josephine Wolff describe the difficulties of forming a government back cybersecurity insurance backstop.

BKC Affiliate Marissa Gerchick and Matt Cagle argue that facial recognition test scores mislead communities about the technology's harms.

BKC Affiliate Tunde Okunoye contemplates what investment in digital identification projects in Africa may achieve—and who they may benefit.

Bruce Schneier writes about the CFPB's proposed data rules and its benefits.

Bruce Schneier explains the need for a rethinking of trust and governance to prepare for the future of AI.

Leah Plunkett speaks to Teen Vogue about the new "Right to Be Forgotten" bill introduced in Maryland to protect child influencers. 

Leah Plunkett writes about how algorithms can quickly become privacy violations.

BKC Faculty Associate Asaf Lubin comments on why it makes little sense that there are no rules for espionage during times of peace when there are rules for times of war.

BKC Faculty Associate Leah Plunkett discusses considerations parents should make before sharing information about their children online.

Zahra Stardust co-authors commentary reflecting on sextech futures.

BKC Faculty Associate Ethan Zuckerman and Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci discuss the privacy considerations surrounding the creation of third-party social media tools to create a…

Chad Rajendra-Nicolucci and BKC Faculty Associate Ethan Zuckerman argue that fresh approaches to privacy will be necessary for the ecosystem of third-party tools that complement…

BKC Faculty Associate Leah Plunkett comments on sharing photos of children and their faces online. 

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier writes about decarbonizing crypto and the opportunity to curb its massive environmental impact. "The good news is that cryptocurrencies don’t have…

BKC Fellow Kesa White writes about extremism and its links to identity and gender.  "Identities make people unique and allow them to live their truth…

BKC Fellow Bruce Schneier writes about the Uber hack. "In all of these cases, the victimized organizations could have very likely protected our data better, but the reality is…

BKC Faculty Associate Jasmine McNealy writes about the recognition of sonic privacy.

Kendra Albert writes about how researchers should handle sex/gender variables in different contexts like medicine, and the different pitfalls researchers may fall into. “False…

BKC Faculty Associate Sameer Hinduja speaks about the new Snapchat safety features.   “Now, of course, those parents or guardians are not going to be able to see the…

BKC Faculty Associate Woodrow Hartzog writes about the repetitive mistakes made by organizations whenever a data breach or spill occurs. “The main plotline of so many data…

“As dating apps continue to receive pressure from civil society, media and governments to address a range of safety concerns, technology companies have developed and deployed a…

Kendra Albert discusses surveillance tools that could put teens at risk post Dobbs. “I’m always more worried about times when you just add more keywords to the system compared…

Alejandra Caraballo speaks about the privacy issues surrounding the payment data that financial companies collect when it comes to evidence of abortion.  “Alejandra…

Kendra Albert writes about the uncertainty surrounding period trackers, and breaks down the fears behind privacy issues surrounding such apps. “Period trackers are not the…

David O’Brien speaks with Boston 25 News about protecting yourself from being tracked by your Wifi signal. “A big part of the problem is that when wireless protocols were…

Alejandra Caraballo speaks about privacy issues surrounding abortion care rights in the workplace. “Once you criminalize the activity, it opens up so much more leeway for law…

Alejandra Caraballo provides an overview on how surveillance technology can impact prosecutions in the Post-Roe era. People are rightly already asking, What would happen to me…

Afsaneh Rigot connects Telegram in Russia, Elon Musk’s Twitter plans, and threats to abortion access and safety...

This report outlines how Design From the Margins can be used to build technologies for decentered cases from the beginning of the design process…

Alejandra Caraballo discusses privacy issues in tech relating to abortions.  "Alejandra Caraballo is a clinical instructor at the Harvard Cyberlaw Clinic. From…

Alejandra Caraballo writes about how tech companies have to grapple with limiting abortion access in the United States. “Tech companies will wake up on the day the Dobbs v…

Bruce Schneier discusses how end-to-end encryption could look for Twitter DMs. Twitter's relatively smaller size — its global user base is a fraction of Facebook, Instagram and…

Cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier explains that paper vaccine cards strike a good balance between ease and security.

Daniel Solove and Woodrow Hartzog have devised a series of recommendations to better Internet governance in "Breached! Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve It."

Afsaneh Rigot explains why Design from the Margins is necessary and salutary...

Reinforcement learning could be the most promising path to artificial general intelligence. But Tom Zick and a team of other researchers urge caution in a new report.

Sameer Hinduja explains the implications of a security flaw on Reddit that allow removed posts to continue to be viewed.

Woodrow Hartzog writes that “Privacy is still a concept in disarray. But that’s okay."

Afsaneh Rigot writes that requirements for real identities on the Internet pose immense safety and security issues — especially for marginalized persons.

Babatunde Okunoye shares insight on why digital identity projects have faced slow user acceptance and adoption in parts of Africa.

Ben Green argues that human oversight policies allow the government to use flawed or controversial algorithms without addressing the fundamental issues with the tools — and…

Shreya Tewari shares the problems with proposals that compromise user privacy in favor of other important goals.

David O'Brien explains how the two decades since the September 11 terrorist attacks have involved a broad expansion of government surveillance powers.

Asaf Lubin explains the problems with current efforts to prevent cybercrime.

Babatunde Okunoye explains the importance of digital security for ID systems.

Samer Hassan shows how blockchain technology can create collaborative economies.

Elizabeth Renieris considers the pitfalls of Apple’s new ID feature.

Danielle Citron comments on Google’s efforts to reduce slander.

Bruce Schneier is interviewed about the future of AI hacking.

In a post for Brookings, Bruce Schneier and colleague argue that cybersecurity vulnerabilities are a major part of warfare.

Elizabeth Renieris discusses data collection by private-sector companies and how incentives differ for public health organizations.

Elizabeth Renieris discusses vaccine passports with MIT Technology Review

Jasmine McNealy and Stephanie Nguyen recap an FTC Workshop Panel Discussion

Elizabeth Renieris explains the benefits and drawbacks of privacy-enhancing technologies. "There is no question that PETs can be useful in reducing some of the risks…

Zahra Stardust and colleagues on cybersecurity and dating apps

A profile of Bruce Schneier in IEEE Spectrum

Tunde Okunoye shares an overview of developments in digital rights in Africa for the BKC Medium Collection.

David O’Brien spoke with Boston 25 News about ransomware attacks and the ransomware industry

Danielle Citron joins the Democracy in Danger podcast.

Elizabeth Renieris explains vaccine passports and potential implications of enforcing them.

David O’Brien shares insight on using third-party vaccine scheduling websites

Elizabeth Renieris explains Google’s Privacy Sandbox

Danielle Citron explains how deepfakes are becoming easier to create and harder to spot

Bruce Schneier co-authors op ed on Bitcoin vulnerabilities

Elizabeth Renieris discusses targeted advertising and Federated Learning of Cohorts

Tunde Okunoye on codifying bug bounty programs in cybersecurity practice

Effy Vayena and colleagues publish in Journal of Medical Internet Research

Desmond Patton is cited in an overview of NYPD surveillance technologies

Bruce Schneier says the market economy played a significant role in the SolarWinds attack.

Ifeoma Ajunwa discusses employee surveillance with HBS Digital Initiative

Bruce Schneier says the security threat to worry about is the one facing the public, not the president

Woodrow Hartzog quoted by the New York Times editorial board

Bruce Schneier offers cybersecurity advice for responding to the SolarWinds attack.

Asaf Lubin calls the SolarWinds Hack a "constitutive moment" in Just Security

In The Guardian, Bruce Schneier says the US must rethink its cybersecurity protocols

Persuasion is essential to society and democracy, but we need new rules governing how companies can harness it, argue Bruce Schneier and colleague

Nick Couldry and colleague argue data about intimate details of our lives should not be exploited by corporations

Elizabeth Renieris explains why Google’s privacy moves may not be good for individual privacy

Leah Plunkett provides insight into student surveillance during the pandemic

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 [during…

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

Data ownership is dangerous

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 deliver…

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. Listen…

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 “sharenting”…

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.”

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a major strategy shift on Wednesday, declaring that the world’s largest social network will develop a highly secure…

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.