Tag Archives: Privacy

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Online privacy protection in the EU

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It’s European ‪#‎DataProtection day! Every day we visit websites and willingly hand over our name, address, and credit card number. Have you ever thought about what happens to that data or what your rights are?

European ‪#‎DataProtection‬ day

Avast keeps your personal data private.

 

Members of the European Union (EU) enjoy a high standard of protection of their personal data. The Digital Agenda for Europe lays it all out for you on their website. Here’s a summary:

The burden to protect you is on organizations

The EU Data Protection Directive ensures that personal data can only be gathered under strict conditions and for legitimate purposes. Organizations that collect and manage your personal information must also protect it from misuse and respect certain rights. One of the objectives is that organizations notify their customers, in plain language, what information is collected and how it is used as well as get permission before using any personal information.

One of the stumbling blocks has been the so-called one-stop-shop for businesses and citizens in each member state in which authorities will handle citizens’ complaints about any breach of the rules. There are just as many ideas on how to run it as there are EU member states.

You must be notified of cookies and data breaches

The Directive on Privacy and Electronic communications (ePrivacy Directive) ensures that all communications over public networks maintain a high level of privacy. For example, this directive requires website owners marketing online to EU citizens to obtain consent from users, via some kind of opt-in, before implementing cookies or other technologies to capture online visitor information. (See below for information on managing your cookies.)

If your data is stolen, the ePrivacy Directive states that you should be notified. That’s good because data theft can result in identity theft or fraud, damage to your reputation, loss of control over your personal data or a loss of confidentiality.

However, this fall, the rules changed slightly and now businesses don’t have to notify consumers that their personal data has been lost or stolen if the data has been encrypted. The ministers figure that the business has “appropriate technological protection measures” to protect the data that has been lost or stolen from being accessed by people not authorized to see it.

Viewing and managing your cookies

For those of you not familiar with the term, cookies are small files stored in your browser that contain information about your visit to a web page. They help tailor your online shopping experiences by doing things such as recording items in your shopping cart, they also recommend products based on your interests, allow auto-log in and compile browsing histories.

In most modern browsers, you can control cookie settings. The options include viewing stored cookies, controlling which sites you accept cookies from, and setting how long they may be stored and used.

Chrome

  1. 1. Open the drop-down menu in the top right corner of the Chrome browser, select Settings.
  2. 2. At the bottom of the page, click Show advanced settings.
  3. 3. In the Privacy section, open the button that says Content settings.
  4. 4. Under Cookies, you check or uncheck the options to manage the settings.
  5. 5. To see individual cookies, click All cookies and site data.
  6. 6. To remove cookies, hover the mouse over the entry. Click the X to delete.
  7. 7. To delete all cookies, click Remove all.

Firefox

For instructions to clear cookies in Firefox, please visit Mozilla’s support page.

Chrome

For instructions on clearing and managing cookies in Internet Explorer, please search Microsoft help for your version of IE. Here’s general information.

Avast

Infographic: Privacy tips for business

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Privacy plays a growing part in customer buying decisions. With every data breach, trust is eroded further.

Privacy and security are intertwined when it comes to our individual information. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the value of their personal data, so that means that businesses have to step up and do a better job of securing that data. Identity theft is the #1 fear of consumers, but for your business the risk is loss of trust and brand damage.

Since trust is the core of any transaction it’s important to know how privacy factors into your customer’s buying decisions. Research shows that almost 40% of consumers made buying decisions based upon privacy. When looking at who these people are, it was found that these individuals are aged 46-65 and have the highest incomes. But don’t rely on the business of the younger generation to supplant that once trust is lost; 27% of millenials abandoned an online purchase in the past month due to privacy or security concerns.

To mark Data Privacy Day on January 28, the following Privacy is Good for Business tips were created by privacy experts in civil-society, non-profit, government and industry and aspire to help business address the public’s growing privacy concerns:

DPD-Privacy-is-Good-for-Business-2014_1_13

  • If you collect it, protect it. Follow reasonable security measures to keep individuals’ personal information safe from inappropriate and unauthorized access.
  • Be open and honest about how you collect, use and share consumers’ personal information. Think about how the consumer may expect their data to be used.
  • Build trust by doing what you say you will do. Communicate clearly and concisely to the public about what privacy means to your organization and the steps you take to achieve and maintain privacy.
  • Create a culture of privacy in your organization. Explain to and educate employees about the importance and impact of protecting consumer and employee information as well as the role they play in keeping it safe.
  • Don’t count on your privacy notice as your only tool to educate consumers about your data practices.
  • Conduct due diligence and maintain oversight of partners and vendors. You are also responsible for how they collect and use personal information.
ESET

Data Privacy Day 2015: Respecting privacy, safeguarding data, enabling trust

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January 28 is Data Privacy Day, an international acknowledgment of the importance of privacy in an increasingly data-driven world. The key themes of Data Privacy Day this year are: Respecting privacy, Safeguarding data, Enabling trust.

The post Data Privacy Day 2015: Respecting privacy, safeguarding data, enabling trust appeared first on We Live Security.

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What can you do to mark Safer Internet Day?

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Safer Internet Day is fast approaching on February 10. and now is a great time to think about what we can all do to help make the Internet a safer place for everyone, especially children or those just coming online.

I am pleased to announce that AVG is a registered supporter of Safer Internet Day and that this year we will be working with the Anti Bullying Alliance in the UK to create valuable resources for young people and parents.

Safer Internet Day

 

The Internet is an incredible tool and every one of us uses it in our own way. It is important to think about small steps that you can take to make the Internet a safer place for yourself, your friends and family.

These days, being safe online doesn’t just mean on your computer. Mobile browsing and gaming is more popular than ever and with micropayments available at the click of a button, staying safe on your mobile is a must.

Here are some great tips on how to stay safe on your Android device.

Video

Mobile Safety Tips

 

Get Involved

Whether you run a business or just use Facebook, Safer Internet Day is about working together to create a more secure, harmonious web for us all to enjoy.

The Safer Internet Day website has several resources that can help you get started if you are thinking of getting involved.

Here are a few ways I plan to mark Safer Internet Day 2015:

  • Social sharing spring clean: A quick double check to make sure I’m only sharing with people that I want to.
  • Two Factor Authentication: Enabling this on my email and banking will help make sure my online accounts are as safe as they can be.
  • Set a passcode on my tablet: Protecting your online world starts with the devices and setting a passcode will help keep my devices and data safe.

 

At very least, I would recommend taking the Safer Internet quiz, which has loads of great tips on staying safe online.

ESET

Mobile health IT security challenge: way bigger than HIPAA?

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Wearable technology and other health-related devices were big at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this month. This recorded webinar explains why these and related technologies present big challenges for data privacy and security.

The post Mobile health IT security challenge: way bigger than HIPAA? appeared first on We Live Security.

Security

Marriott Agrees to Stop Blocking Guest WiFi Devices

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Marriott, which last year paid a $600,000 fine for blocking customers’ WiFi devices in its hotels, has said that it no longer will prevent guests from using personal hotspots or similar devices. The situation resulted from a complaint by a guest who stayed at Marriott’s Gaylord Opryland hotel in 2013 and found that he couldn’t […]

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The Internet of Things must begin with privacy

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Earlier in January, thousands of attendees and exhibitors descended on Las Vegas for the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

One of the most exciting and talked about trends was the mass market arrival of the Internet of Things, something that I have been talking about since August 2013.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a catch-all term for the growing number of Internet enabled devices in our lives. If you wear an activity tracker, have a smart Nest thermostat, or remote access CCTV in your home, these are all part of the IoT.

What we saw at CES was a potential glimpse into the future. We saw smart dog bowls, smart baby monitors and even Belty, a smart belt.

Belty

Image courtesy of stuff.tv

 

Apart from excitement, all smart devices have something in common, they create data. They generate data that helps us as users to take more steps each day, brush our teeth for the required time, not forget to water our plants etc.

All this data is very useful but it is also very real privacy concern. In fact, shortly after CES, the chairwoman of Federal Trade Commission Edith Ramirez warned that privacy and security should be a key consideration as we add more devices to the Internet of Things.

She outlined three major concerns brought about by the IoT:

  • ubiquitous data collection
  • the potential for unexpected uses of consumer data that could have adverse consequences
  • heightened security risks

 

I couldn’t agree more with Ramirez, as we have seen with voice recognition technologies, the connected world of the IoT has witnessed a land grab. Companies are developing smart devices as quickly as possible and putting them out into the market without proper consideration for what is safe or how data should be used responsibly.

The line between our connected lives and physical lives is more blurred with each passing year and we must change the way we view data and personal information.

I don’t believe that collecting data is a bad thing, in fact its data collection that allows many of the web’s most popular services to function at all. What I do insist on, however, is that data collection is transparent, easy to understand and most important of all, consensual.

People have come to learn that their data has value, and they should be the ones to decide who they share it with, and how it can be used.