None of the scenarios listed below have happened yet, as far as we know:
A star college quarterback sends a text message to five friends, bragging about his performance against a rival school. One of the friends forwards it to another set of friends, and one of them sends it to a few other people. The message finds its way to the blogosphere, then to ESPN. Soon football fans around the Internet are questioning the quarterback’s character and judgment for “distributing” inflammatory bulletin board material.
An angry crank with an axe to grind against a top defensive prospect searches the Internet for dirt on his prey. An ordinary Google search turns up not just public data, but postings from the defender’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. The crank establishes an anti-prospect Web site, mixing out-of-context postings with some facts and a sprinkle of innuendo. Maybe he goes a step further, impersonating the player on a phony Twitter account and tweeting vitriol to a confused public. The line between what’s real and what’s fabricated is blurred by reporters and draftniks, who inadvertently cite some of the false or highly distorted information. The prospect’s reputation is tarnished by a cyber-smear campaign. By the time he realizes it, the damage is already done.
A team hires an investigator to check out the top prospect in the draft, and the investigator isn’t above bending a few laws. In addition to standard background checks, he calls in a few favors with major Internet advertisers. He suddenly has access to the prospect’s “clickstream” information, a full record of the athlete’s browsing and chatting proclivities. Chat sessions at 3 a.m., just hours before kickoff? The general manager may find that interesting. Perhaps a GPS search of the player’s iPhone will provide other revelations …
FPF/Gridwise Alliance Smart Grid and Privacy Conference Recap and Materials
The Future of Privacy Forum and the GridWise Alliance hosted a Smart Grid Privacy Conference on March 2 at the Embassy of Canada. It included speakers from the White House, privacy commissioners and advocates, utilities, regulators and grid companies. Can we learn from the tech privacy troubles of the last decade or must we repeat them? The environment, green jobs and energy independence may depend on it. Click on this link below for a recap of the event: http://gridwise.org/JointPrivacyandSmartGridEvent.htm
6th Annual Carnegie Mellon Conference on the Electricity Industry
Jules Polonetsky will be participating in Carnegie Mellon’s 6th Annual Conference on the Electricity Industry on Tuesday, March 9. Click here for event details.
White House seeking Smart Grid Privacy Input
The White House is seeking smart grid privacy input. Details can be found here.
Useful commentary from the Smart Grid Security Blog
The online collection of information over time, used to create profiles for
targeted advertising campaigns (better known as behavioral advertising),
creates more effective advertising and helps web publishers support their
sites. However, behavioral advertising has also raised privacy issues among
legislators, regulators, and consumer advocates. This program will include
a discussion of the current regulatory, self-regulatory, legislative, and
policy environment around behavioral advertising, how to take all of those
factors into account when deciding to engage in behavioral advertising, and
a look forward to what the business community can expect in 2010.
Speakers
Presented by Reed Freeman of Morrison & Foerster LLP;
Michelle Rosenthal, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Federal Trade Commission;
C. Lee Peeler, President & CEO, National Advertising Review Council and Executive Vice President, Council of Better Business Bureaus;
Jules Polonetsky, Co-chair and Director, Future of Privacy Forum.
Power vs. Privacy: Smart Grid Could Turn Appliances Into Spies, Experts Say
Power vs. Privacy: Smart Grid Could Turn Appliances Into Spies, Experts Say
CBC News Canada
By Paul Gallant
February 18, 2010
Do you want your fridge talking about you behind your back?
With the rapid adoption of a North American “smart grid” aimed at helping consumers conserve electricity, it’s also possible that smart appliances will be able to transmit information about their activities (and yours) through the power lines. Your electricity utility may not yet be able to determine when you snack, do laundry or shower, but privacy advocates are sounding the alarm that systems need to be put in place to guard details about a household’s electricity usage from prying eyes.
A paper released last November by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and the U.S.-based Future of Privacy Forum proposes building privacy controls right into the smart grid before the system is fully rolled out.
Although different utilities define the smart grid in different ways, the key feature is a two-way communication system between a household’s meter and the electricity utility so that energy consumption can be tracked with incredible — sometimes even minute-by-minute — detail.
“The Smart Grid will enable third parties to peer into your home,” says commissioner Ann Cavoukian. “You can imagine how tempting the marketing opportunities will be.”
Christopher Wolf quoted:
“There always needs be a policy to provide levels of protection, or at least transparency, about how the data will be used,” says Christopher Wolf of the Future of Privacy Forum. “It’s not the technology that’s bad, it’s the use of the technology.”
