IPhone 5s Fingerprint Scanner Privacy

As we all know, Apple is constantly coming out with new features and upgrades for its IPhones. The IPhone 5s was recently released and has since been the source of many privacy concerns, specifically, when it comes to the fingerprint scanner. This means that the owner of the device can scan up to five fingers on the home button to unlock the phone. Apple says that the fingerprint scanner, called Touch ID, reads the fingerprint with a remarkable degree of detail and precision.

The question is “How can you guarantee your security with this new feature?” The truth is that you cannot be certain that someone will not be able to access your information. Researchers are giving more negative input than positive. According to one researcher "Relying on your fingerprints to secure a device may be okay for casual security – but you shouldn't depend upon it if you have sensitive data you wish to protect.”

There is a club called Chaos Computer Club whose goal is to find ways around operating systems like this. All you need is a fingerprint from a doorknob, or even from a glossy surface to pull the print. Do a few fancy things with it, such as photographing it at a 2400 pixel-inch scan, and then print it onto an overhead projector sheet of paper, add wood glue to it on top, let it dry and you will be able to use someone else’s fingerprint to access their information. It took the members of the Chaos club less than forty-eight hours to hack it.

The Washington post stated in a recent article “If hackers get a hold of your thumbprint, they could use it to identify and impersonate you for the rest of your life.” Not just to look at your photos but to potentially steal your identity. However, representatives from Apple have assured everyone that the fingerprint will be secure on a chip in the phone, and that no matter what kind of code can be ran on the processor, the chip physically could not be released.

As with all of your personal information, you need to be very cautious with it. Especially with something such as your finger print, just like your Social Security number, your fingerprint is specific to you alone and it needs to be protected. I expect many people will test the security of the new Iphone 5s in the next couple of months and if it proves to be secure, then I think Touch ID will be a convenient feature to have. However, if it proves unsuccessful, I do not think this cool new feature will be worth the risk of a security breach.


Peterson, Andrea, and Hayley Tsukayama. "Technology." Washington Post., 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.

Arthur, Charles. "IPhone 5S Fingerprint Sensor Hacked by Germany's Chaos Computer Club." The Guardian., 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.

Perfect Privacy

I am definitely one of the people who left Internet Security for someone else to figure out. Before researching the topic I figured all the sites and devices I used had to be somewhat safe and private due to my lack of knowledge on this situation. After a few Internet searches and researches on the topic, I realized I was completely wrong. Not every little thing we say and do can be completely recorded but a majority of the metadata can. Which come to find out is a lot of the times the most important part. If your wondering what Metadata is, it is a set of data that describes and gives information about other data. It may seem kind of vague when first trying to entail what that actually means but it is exactly what it says it is. For example, during a phone call a set of data would be the actual conversation itself. So the metadata on that phone call would be the sender and receiver of the phone call, duration of the call, where the call originated from, and where the call was received from.

 

Yes, there are plenty of ways to try to obtain perfect privacy but ultimately is that even possible? One thing you can do as a user of the Internet is to make sure you are connected to a secure Wi-Fi. Searching private information at a local Starbucks would not be a good thing for you to do. The most discouraging part is that you could be at your house browsing through your secure Wi-Fi system and thousands of miles away a hacker could still obtain your metadata if not even more. According to Seth Schoen of The Electronic Frontier Foundation's senior staff technologist put it, "Someone spying on you can still figure out a lot from your location, the timing and volume of your communications, and who you communicated with." For that reason, companies like Silent Circle and possibly Lavabit recently announced they would be exiting the secure email business. Both of those companies strive to obtain perfectly secure email and apparently they don't think it is possible either.

If email and desktops are not secure, are cellphones? Not even close, phone technologies used in the U.S encrypt the audio of your conversation, but decrypt it once it hits the telephone network. Through that process, hackers or law enforcement can intercept your information at any number of places. Not to mention, by using cellphones you could either be tracked by cell towers constantly or secretly listened to by some voice command bot. So yes, there are plenty of known privacy leaks in today's smartphones. If you do want privacy while talking on the phone you could use the app Silent Voice, which uses an end-to-end encrypted channel between two phones. Downside of that is the hefty price that comes with the app, $120 per year and for a lot of people that is a hard sell.

So for the meantime while Internet privacy is not completely private, what can we do? Yah a few downloads of Internet Security programs or settings on  your smartphone could help you keep a low profile, but until the next generation privacy tools hit your best bet for a confidential conversation would be to just do it the old fashion way (in person).


"'Perfect Privacy'? In Internet Communication, That Doesn't Exist." NBC News. 27 August 2013. Web. 1 Sept. 2013

Top Myths Regarding Internet Privacy

Almost everyone has been victimized or knows someone who has been the victim of someone hacking into their personal email or social media accounts. In today’s world, too many trust the internet as long as there are privacy settings to protect the user. Below are several myths that a majority of internet users believe to be true.

Myth #1 – Users have privacy rights in Social Media Platforms. I often hear the phrase, “My Facebook page is private, so if they are not my friend, they cannot view my information.” This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media venues have rights to track every move its users make as there are no regulations or constitutional rights that prevent it. Any information, such as personal information can be sent to advertisers. Anything posted online may as well be public information.

Myth #2 – You have the right to retrieve all of your information once displayed. – When a user posts something on the internet, just because you take it down does not mean that it has disappeared forever. For example, I post on Facebook that my best friend has robbed a bank. She finds out that I posted her name and crime on the internet and demands that I remove it or else. Just because I remove my post, does not mean that it is gone. All it takes is for one person to share, tag, or comment and the post then becomes theirs with your name attached. Just because you delete, does not mean it has disappeared into thin air.

Myth #3 – The personal information you provided is yours alone. – FALSE! The personal data that a user provides, online and especially to social media platforms, is factual. Factual information is not considered intellectual property according to United States law. Databases that hold your personal information are more protected under consent than you are. Facebook has fought several disputes as they have been accused of sharing personal data to advertisers.

How do we protect ourselves on the internet?

The less information a user provides to a social media outlet or online in general, the more privacy the user receives. We must assume that everyone can read everything we make available online as privacy settings do not protect everything. A digital reputation is extremely hard to clean up after years of posting derogatory information, photos, blogs, posts, etc. Less is definitely more!

"Top 5 Internet Privacy Myths about Social Media Debunked." Sgrouples Online Privacy Blog. Sgrouples, 20 June 2013. Web. 03 Sept. 2013.

Online Privacy Fears are Real

Internet privacy has been a controversial issue since the beginning of the World Wide Web. Advertising firms want to know everything about you, such as what you are searching, what websites your going to, what you are buying, who your friends are, what your friends are buying, and so forth. They can even use the most personal information such as a pet’s names. If you put it out there, they will find a way to use it. Firms do this in order to sell your information to large companies for their own profit. From there, these companies will customize the “perfect” product to propose to you through advertisements. On the other hand, consumers want these advertising firms to know as little about them as possible. Consumers go to great lengths to protect their computer from spyware, malware, and viruses.

Do we really know what is going on through the Internet? According to Rick Jackson, CEO of privacy technology firm Privada Inc. states, “ We consumers don’t have any knowledge of what really goes on out there.” He also mentioned as an example that big firms would follow every click you would make and then compare to other companies. This stalking does not just stop at a large firm level. Individuals who are very computer savvy are watching and waiting for you to put your personal information out on the web in hopes that they can steal your identity.  Unfortunately, consumers have no control over this online behavior. Even Rick Jackson was a victim of identity theft.

Another issue that online websites are facing is the selling of your information to people when you sign up for things online. They do this behind consumer’s backs because technically they are allowed to do so. There are only a handful of websites that will protect your information. A survey site, called SimplyQuick.com, surveyed 90 companies and only 30 percent of the sites would guarantee that your information would not be sold to a third party. So how does one protect from this dilemma? You just have to be careful what information you put on websites and keep up to date on the new ways people are scamming. But a big question for me was, why are we as a society not more informed about this situation?

 

Sullivan, Bob. "Online Privacy Fears Are Real." Msnbc.com. Web. 04 Sept. 2013.
 

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3078835/t/online-privacy-fears-are-real/