The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School is a leader in the study of the law and policy around the Internet and other emerging technologies.
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"“My fear is that [the coronavirus] will be used as an excuse to expand the reach of surveillance beyond its initial purposes,” said Margaret Hu, a cyber-surveillance researcher and law professor at Washington and Lee University." Read more about Coronavirus Disproportionately Hurts Minorities. So Could Contact Tracing
"Scott Shackelford is the chair of Indiana University's cyber security program. He agrees, and says cyber security is like personal hygiene: it won't ever be perfect, but it's important to pay attention to on an ongoing basis – especially considering the massive amounts of student data schools are home to.
"We're never going to exercise perfect cyber hygiene. But we can do a lot of things to make it a lot better, frankly," he says." Read more about As Schools Move Online, So Do Security Threats. Here's What Experts Say You Can Do
"“None of this works without ubiquitous and frequent and highly distributed testing," said Omer Tene, vice president of the International Association of Privacy Professionals in Portsmouth, N.H." Read more about Track the virus’s spread with smartphone apps? It’s apt to be harder than it looks
"Thomas Lohninger, executive director of the Vienna-based digital rights NGO epicenter.works, said that since contact tracing apps deal with sensitive health data “it would be good if Europe were to lead the way on a privacy-friendly solution to this problem.”
“PEPP-PT is successfully leading the way towards a decentralized solution for tracing COVID-19 infections. But this initiative is very young and so far hasn’t delivered on their promises with a concrete solution,” he said." Read more about Germany Calls For Unified EU Corona-Tracing App for Tighter Privacy Controls
"“My concern is that out of desperation we will turn to technology and put in place a massive surveillance apparatus at a tangible loss to civil liberties that doesn’t even accomplish the goals it sets out to in terms of saving human lives and healing the economy,” Ryan Calo, a University of Washington law professor focused on cybersecurity and privacy, told me. Read more about The Cybersecurity 202: Privacy experts fear a boom in coronavirus surveillance
"Albert Gidari, director of privacy at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, agreed there is a difference between anonymised and aggregate data, but said aggregate tower data such as the kind mobile operators might provide “even though not completely anonymous, has very low risk for privacy”. Read more about Blog: Could Covid-19 change privacy standards forever?
“Any time you have a database online, and they are using a communication tool among their employees — whether it is manager, coaches, players, scouts, etc. Read more about The Next Frontier of Baseball Cheating: The Cloud
"“We can’t blindly trust a telecom operator using sensitive location data about millions of people without checking the math,” said Thomas Lohninger, director of the Austrian digital rights organization epicenter.works, adding that he is not opposed to aggregated location tracking, so long as it is carefully implemented. “We privacy advocates are not fundamentalists, but during this crisis, we have to remain a liberal democracy. Much more intrusive measures can be proportionate in these circumstances, as long as there are proper safeguards, and there is a sunset clause.”" Read more about Are Governments Sacrificing Privacy to Fight the Coronavirus Pandemic?
"“My concern is that out of desperation we will turn to technology and put in place a massive surveillance apparatus at a tangible loss to civil liberties that doesn’t even accomplish the goals it sets out to in terms of saving human lives and healing the economy,” Ryan Calo, a University of Washington law professor focused on cybersecurity and privacy, told me." Read more about The Cybersecurity 202: Privacy experts fear a boom in coronavirus surveillance
"“There can be little doubt that better access to and analysis of information will play a prominent role in addressing the ongoing pandemic,” wrote Ryan Calo, a professor at the University of Washington School of Law and co-director of the university’s Tech Policy Lab. “Yet even as we bring to bear the considerable ingenuity of our academic, public, and private institutions, my research into privacy and technology counsels a measure of humility and caution regarding the use of data analytics to address this crisis.” Read more about Congress Hears Options—And Concerns—for Using Smartphone Data to Fight COVID-19
"“This is a huge step forward to assist the public health community with contact tracing while preserving user privacy,” says Albert Gidari, director of privacy at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. “It has the advantage of scale and interoperability while giving users the choice to participate.”" Read more about Apple, Google Could Alert You to Coronavirus Exposure
"“This isn’t a substitute for testing - you need to know who has it - but it produces actionable results so people can act responsibly, self-isolate and reduce anxiety in the community as a whole,” said Al Gidari, a Stanford University law school lecturer and previously long-time external counsel to Google." Read more about Apple, Google plan software to slow virus, joining global debate on tracking
"In response to the news, ACLU surveillance and cybersecurity counsel Jennifer Granick said the effectiveness of contact tracing apps will depend on trust and voluntary use and should not include any centralized repository of user data. Read more about Apple and Google partner on Bluetooth interoperability for COVID-19 tracing apps
"Apple and Google today announced a joint contact tracing effort using Bluetooth technology.
Below is comment from Jennifer Granick, ACLU surveillance and cybersecurity counsel, in response: Read more about ACLU Comment on Apple/Google COVID-19 Contact Tracing Effort
"Privacy-minded consumers should consider video chat options carefully, said Arvind Narayanan, an associate computer science professor at Princeton University who has been outspoken about the security concerns surrounding Zoom. Read more about Worried about Zoom's privacy problems? A guide to your video-conferencing options
"As the American Civil Liberties Union’s Jennifer Granick explained via email, ad tech companies have also never had to deal with high stakes or real accountability, and the pivot from invasive marketing to epidemiology is fraught. “You can’t just repurpose information for any cause,” said Granick. “For example, ad companies traditionally don’t have to worry about accuracy. If they mess up, someone sees an ad that they aren’t interested in. But when we are talking public health, potential law enforcement, and employment, these companies’ mistakes can be catastrophic.”" Read more about Location-Tracking Firm Helping Trump Get Reelected Now Wants to Cash in on Coronavirus
“They never really thought about security and privacy when they created this platform,” said Dr. Richard Forno, who is a cyber security expert and teaches at the UMBC.
Forno says the meeting ID’s the app used were too predictable, which allowed hackers to easily infiltrate meetings and online classes.
“If you and I were using zoom right now and our meeting ID was 1234, somebody can try 12345, 123456, 1234567, and keep trying to find ones that will let them in,” he said Read more about Millions of people love the video conferencing app Zoom and so do hackers
"We've seen an explosion of efforts to create location-tracking techniques to fight the spread of COVID-19. The mobile advertising industry is legally able to obtain location data from apps installed on users' phones, and then turn around to hand that information to federal or state government agencies or to private parties. This is a way for governments to "launder" the acquisition of location data, bypassing the use of legal process to obtain that information from cell carriers directly. Read more about What are the biggest holes in data privacy that have been exacerbated by coronavirus?
"But it’s not clear whether a critical mass of the population will ever hear about or choose to download these apps, says Ryan Calo, a University of Washington law professor who focuses on digital privacy issues. If few people enroll themselves in such tracing efforts, it could at least undermine their effectiveness and may even give some users a false sense of confidence about where they can safely go out in public, he says." Read more about How San Francisco plans to trace every coronavirus case and contact
""There's really never been a time in history where a clever app means the difference between widespread calamity and people being able to go about their lives," said Ryan Calo, a University of Washington law professor who studies privacy. "It's just not plausible. This is a serious emergency we're in."
Calo said an app could fail in multiple ways even if it's designed well. For example, could a prankster visit several grocery stores and then sign up for the app as a false positive to cause trouble, sparking unnecessary panic? Read more about Behind the global efforts to make a privacy-first coronavirus tracking app