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Smart Appliances and Big Data

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Smart appliances may be too smart for our own good. Take smart TVs, for instance. As this article illustrates some of these new appliances are particularly vulnerable to hackers. Once compromised, the TVs allow access to account information, including login credentials (which owners may use for access to more than just their smart-TV account). Even scarier, hackers could gain access to front-facing cameras to see everything happening in the room where the TV is connected. Instead of you watching your favorite program, criminals may be watching you!   This may also apply to games consoles with webcams, laptops and security cameras.

Once the machine is compromised, hackers can stealthily activate its front-facing camera (available on higher-end smart TVs), hijack a user account, steal credentials by presenting fake login pages and infect other applications on the TV with malware.

Big data refers to all the massive amounts of information collected from our TV's, mobile devices, cars, appliances, even our clothes! and how those pieces of data can be compiled to create new information. Maybe having our refrigerator sending a ‘pick up milk' message to our cell phones while we are grocery shopping is a good thing.  Maybe not.

Here are some more resources for you to explore how smart you think our appliances should be:

Privacy for Everyone: Closing the Gap Between the Privacy-Have's and the Privacy Have-Nots  Address by Patricia Kosseim, Senior General Counsel and Director General, Legal Services, Policy and Research Branch, (June 2014)

Rebecca Herold (a.k.a. The Privacy Professor) for more tips.

‘Technocreep' author says new technologies have been invading our privacy like never before , CBC interview, The Current with Anna Maria Tremonti and Tom Keenan

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Email on mobile devices

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Is your email secure? Backed up? If you suddenly lose your email, calendar, or contact list, this could either be a speed bump in your busy day, or a nightmare that may take days or weeks and a lot of money to recover.

email_iconHaving sensitive information in your emails make it vulnerable to attack, and it could leave you, your clients, and your employees, open to identity fraud. If you have your emails on your mobile device, consider enabling ‘remote wipe' should you loose your phone.  There are a number of ways to perform remote wipe on mobile devices.

If your business authorizes emails on mobile devices, you need a policy to locate and wipe any lost devices.

You can also encrypt both emails and other data and voice messages between mobile devices. Pretty Good Privacy or PGP is a popular program used to encrypt and decrypt email over the Internet, as well as authenticate messages with digital signatures and encrypted stored files. Peer-to-Peer encryption can also be used.

Most smart phones allow you to change your settings to encrypt the data on your phone.

Why encrypt?

Think of it this way. If all of your information on a mobile device – even the simple family photos, address contact book, emails and all the attachments – suddenly appeared in someone else's hands – would you want them to read it? Why wouldn't you encrypt your data? Give yourself peace of mind just in case you loose your mobile device.

Celebrate Data Privacy Day with Information Managers!

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Your online reputation

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Your online reputation can help you, but it can also hurt you. Unlike having a conversation in person with a friend, anything you post online can last a lifetime and be taken out of context.  Understand the consequence of your actions before posting.

Illustration from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, www.priv.gc.ca

Illustration from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, www.priv.gc.ca

Not only may the things we post be public to people we know and wish hadn't seen it, they may also be public to a fraudster intent on using your information for identity theft or phishing attacks posing as yourself and targeting your acquaintances. A positive online presence can help you get the job you want or get in to the college of your dreams.

Create a strong online presence by maintaining a positive profile about yourself, commenting positively about others or contributing to a blog. You can check your digital footprint by searching for your name online.

The golden rule

Only post about others as you would want posted about yourself.

Think about how something you say online can be taken out of context or how others may perceive your post. Share with care – what you post can last a lifetime.

 

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Worst Passwords

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Hack-proofing your passwords is absolutely essential, especially if run a business. Small businesses are major targets, with more than 80% being targets of opportunities.

Here's a Top 25 List you don't want to join!

SplashData has published its Top 25 Worst Passwords ranking, revealing the most used and most predictable combinations of characters on the web in 2014. Since the first edition in 2011, “123456” and “password” have consistently claimed the top two spots. The list is built on common publicly leaked passwords.

Tip – Don't get frustrated whenever you forget your password. Instead, be proud that you change your password regularly using the ‘I forgot my password' re-set function!

SplashData is a publisher of online password management solutions. Its ranking is based on over 3.3 million passwords recorded through its services, namely in the US.

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Data Privacy Day Edmonton

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Save the Date! January 28, 2013

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta will be hosting a half day Data Privacy Day event on the morning of Monday, January 28, 2013 at the Delta Edmonton Centre Suite Hotel, 10222 – 102 Street, Edmonton. Details regarding the agenda and registration at OIPC.ab.ca.

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Data Privacy Day

2013, Data Privacy Day, Data Privacy Day Edmonton, privacy
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It is a rare privilege to work with an authentic expert who fulfills their role of consultant and coach with curiosity and respect for the specific nature of their client's unique enterprise. Jean Eaton was always prepared, sat every meeting on time, listened to an endless barrage of questions and answered every one with patience, grace, and wise counsel. The end product Information Managers Ltd provided ECHO Health was exceptional; their ongoing support will be a large measure of our success going forward. I highly recommend their services.

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