There are ways to protect digital privacy, SACPA told
If you’re connected, your privacy is at risk. But that risk can be reduced, a New Media professor told an audience at the Southern Alberta Council of Public Affairs. And some online activities may be safer than others.
Most of the world has entered the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” explained James Graham, a founding member of the New Media department at the University of Lethbridge.
Enormous amounts of data are being collected from everyone who uses a cellphone, Wi-Fi, a computer or almost any other digital device, he pointed out. International companies like MicroSoft, Google and Facebook make millions by amassing that information, then selling it to eager buyers.
At the same time, Graham said, hackers keep finding ways to steal that data. “Everybody is trying to break in all the time.” How successful they are may depend on each person’s privacy settings as well as the programs they use, he added. He advises users to select the “Incognito” setting on Chrome, for example, and said he uses LinkedIn, believing Facebook users are too vulnerable. “They really want your data.” At home, Graham said, internet users are safer using cable to connect their hardware, because signals from modems can easily be intercepted by neighbours. At the store, using “tap” seems safer than pin numbers, because too few credit card users are guarded when punching in their numbers.
Briefly describing many developments in the cyber world — artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, virtual currencies and more — Graham maintained the digital revolution has brought benefits as well as dangers. With cellphones in use almost everywhere, communication is easy for people in most parts of the world.
And for women living in a patriarchal society, he added, phone-linked applications can allow women in business to keep control over their own income.
But Graham said the same amoral attitude that encourages children to “kill” another being as part of a digital game also pervades many of the big players in digital industries. They feel no compunction about selling someone’s personal information, as damaging as that may be. “If we don’t do it, someone else will,” they say. And with online services like Twitter readily available, Graham said, the companies take no responsibility for false or dangerous postings.
“Sound bites become a weapon,” and the person who speaks the loudest becomes the winner.
“Right now, Trump has the microphone,” and “he has the freedom to lie.” There are many other ethical questions, Graham noted. While a “digital pill” can now be used to see if someone is taking prescribed medications, for example, it can also send data to an insurance company looking for ways to refuse payment.
“Awareness is important,” but Graham suspects too few people understand the advances in technology, to know how to set reasonable limits.