Technology and the Emerging Post-Privacy Era
Computers, databases and networks have connected us like never before, but at what cost?
How Many Cell Phones Does It Take to Arouse a Supreme Court Justice’s Suspicion?
Do you promise to tell the truth on however many phones you carry?
How To Reconcile Big Data and Privacy
In many ways "big data" and "encryption" are antithetical. The former involves harvesting, storing and analyzing information to reveal patterns that researchers, law enforcement and industry can use to their benefit...
Protecting Your Privates: 5 Techniques for Maintaining Web Confidentiality
There are ways to protect personal information while still enjoying much of what the Web has to offer
A Survey Asks: How Much Does Your Privacy Online Matter?
Is online anonymity important to you? How far are you willing to go to protect your privacy? These two the key questions are examined in a report released Thursday by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project...
Wiretaps through Software Hacks to Get Legal Scrutiny
Should the FBI be able to break into private electronic communications via existing software vulnerabilities?
Fact or Fiction: Encryption Prevents Digital Eavesdropping
There are effective ways to encrypt data, whether it is in transit or in storage, but if that data is left in the clear at any point along its path, it is vulnerable to theft or tampering...
Fashion Statement: Designer Creates Line of Drone-Proof Garments to Protect Privacy
As debate over the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the U.S. rages on, a fashion designer introduces clothing that blocks drone-mounted infrared cameras
Does a Public “Find My iPhone” Search Violate Personal Privacy?
A guy stole my iPhone. I tracked it and posted his address online. Was that wrong?
Invasion of Privacy: A Conversation with Larry Greenemeier
ScientificAmerican.com's Larry Greenemeier talks about your privacy and the threats to it. See our privacy package online at SciAm.com, as well as the September special single-topic issue of Scientific American ...
Spying on the Spies [Slide Show]
State Department shows off Cold War-era electronic eavesdropping gadgets
Many States Elect Not to Use Flawed E-Voting Technology
Eight years after the controversial 2000 presidential election, electronic voting systems still fail to deliver on their promise of accuracy and security
I Hear Ya: Bush Signs Expanded Wiretap Power into Law
President scores victory in effort to widen scope of federal government's warrantless recon power
Palm-Reading Devices Get Smart about Security
A new biometrics system uses the blood network in the palms of your hand to ID individuals
China's Cyber Attacks Signal New Battlefield Is Online
Although a cyber war has yet to be declared, there have been plenty of online skirmishes
Apple disses hackers' Black Hat convention
In a move that could backfire, according to one security expert, Apple pulled out of a prominent hackers' convention taking place this week in Las Vegas.
Hackers convene Last HOPE conference in the Big Apple
Computer programmers, researchers and students descended on New York City's Hotel Pennsylvania today for the HOPE conference, a forum for all things related to security, including a healthy dose of sessions devoted to breaking security...
Navy Mulls New Way to Enhance, Hide Submarine Communications
Deep Siren technology would let submarines communicate with ships and shore without compromising stealth
Colorado "Spam King" Dead in Apparent Murder/Suicide
Edward Davidson reportedly shot his wife and daughters before turning the gun on himself after escaping from minimum-security prison
Mac Attack Targets Porn Surfers
Does a scheme for stealing personal information from Mac OS X users mean that a few bad Apples are about to spoil the bunch?
Space Station Could Beam Secret Quantum Codes by 2014
Researchers outline project to send long-distance, ultrasecure messages on Earth via the International Space Station
Heart-Stopper: Could Hackers Hit Pacemakers, Other Medical Implants?
Researchers warn that implantable medical devices could be vulnerable to cyber strikes
iPhone Hacks Annoy AT&T but Are Unlikely to Bruise Apple
Efforts to untie AT&T's exclusive service-provider agreement with Apple's iPhone are an interesting exercise to prove it can be done. But how many iPhone customers will take advantage of this?...
The Web Ushers In New Weapons of War and Terrorism
Protesters, terrorists and warmongers have found the Internet to be a useful tool to achieve their goals. Who will bring law and order to cyberspace?
Privacy in an Age of Terabytes and Terror
Introduction to SciAm 's issue on Privacy. Our jittery state since 9/11, coupled with the Internet revolution, is shifting the boundaries between public interest and "the right to be let alone"...
International Report: What Impact Is Technology Having on Privacy around the World?
ScientificAmerican.com, with help from our international colleagues, highlights privacy and security issues in China, Japan, the Middle East, Russia and the U.K.
Security Breach: Feds Lose Laptop Containing Sensitive Data -- Again
This time, a thief made off with a computer containing unencrypted details of about 2,500 participants in an NIH clinical trial
Planning to E-Vote? Read This First
With less than three months before the presidential election, the hotly contested state, Ohio, along with others, continue to have problems with E-voting technology
Seven Paths to Regulating Privacy
History is ambiguous about government willingness to protect private life, but a few recommendations can help keep its future secure
Cryptography: How to Keep Your Secrets Safe
A versatile assortment of computational techniques can protect the privacy of your information and online activities to essentially any degree and nuance you desire
Beyond Fingerprinting: Is Biometrics the Best Bet for Fighting Identity Theft?
Security systems based on anatomical and behavioral characteristics may offer the best defense against identity theft
Digital Surveillance: Tools of the Spy Trade
Night-vision cameras, biometric sensors and other gadgets already give snoops access to private spaces. Coming soon: palm-size "bug-bots"
Data Fusion: The Ups and Downs of All-Encompassing Digital Profiles
Mashing everyone's personal data, from credit card bills to cell phone logs, into one all-encompassing digital dossier is the stuff of an Orwellian nightmare. But it is not as easy as most people assume...
Poll: How Safe is Your Information Online
What steps do you take to protect your personal information?
How RFID Tags Could Be Used to Track Unsuspecting People
A privacy activist argues that the devices pose new security risks to those who carry them, often unwittingly
Internet Eavesdropping: A Brave New World of Wiretapping
As telephone conversations have moved to the Internet, so have those who want to listen in. But the technology needed to do so would entail a dangerous expansion of the government's surveillance powers...
Does an Advertiser Know You Clicked on This Story?
Facebook, Yahoo, and Google come under fire for allowing advertisers to follow online consumer behavior to create targeted messages
Who's Keeping an Eye on Your Online Health Records?
Google, Microsoft and other providers of Web-based services for managing health care information promise to keep it secure, but privacy policies vary from site to site
Do Social Networks Bring the End of Privacy?
Young people share the most intimate details of personal life on social-networking Web sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, portending a realignment of the public and the private
Tougher Laws Needed to Protect Your Genetic Privacy
In spite of recent legislation, tougher laws are needed to prevent insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of genetic tests
Are You Being Watched? Probably
Looking back at the surveillance all around us--from wiretapped phones to security cameras
How Loss of Privacy May Mean Loss of Security
Many issues posing as questions of privacy can turn out to be matters of security, health policy, insurance or self-presentation. It is useful to clarify those issues before focusing on privacy itself...
Pedophile-Proof Chat Rooms?
Can Lancaster University's Isis Project keep children safe online without invading our privacy?
Industry Roundtable: Experts Discuss Improving Online Security
Experts from Sun, Adobe, Microsoft and MacAfee discuss how to protect against more numerous and sophisticated attacks by hackers; security professionals call for upgraded technology, along with more attention to human and legal factors...
Sounds of Typing Give Messages Away
How to Disappear from the Web
If you've ever been the victim of identity theft, or a stalker, or you just value your privacy, Tech Talker has the tools to help you ditch the digital age and remove your presence from the web...
California Considers DNA Privacy Law
If passed, such a law would have a costly and damaging effect on research
Biometric Security Poses Huge Privacy Risks
Without explicit safeguards, your personal biometric data are destined for a government database
Secure E-mail Services Shuttered over Fears of Government PRISM Reprisals
Revelations of the U.S. National Security Agency’s PRISM program continue to have worldwide ripple effects. Nearly two months after U.S. federal prosecutors charged NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property for blowing the lid off of the clandestine surveillance program, the company that secured Snowden’s electronic communications with journalists and international [...]..
California Tables Plans for RF Enhanced Driver's License
EDLs contain a RFID chip and let you rapidly reenter the U.S. at a land border without needing a passport. Proponents in California want to alleviate congestion at the Mexico border. Opponents worry about privacy...
Protect Privacy When Recycling Smart Phones
A factory reset may not be enough to wipe the data from a smart phone you're planning to recycle. Larry Greenemeier reports
6-Month-Old E-Mails Easy Pickings for Police
The outdated 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act considers e-mail "abandoned" and searchable if it's stored for more than 180 days on a server. Larry Greenemeier reports
Is Privacy Dead? Technological Approaches to the Technological Threat
In this episode Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Latanya Sweeney talks about the changes in privacy due to data collection and approaches to protect privacy in the future, with Scientific American contributor Chip Walter...
Who's Watching You: The Future of Privacy
Scientific American editor in chief, John Rennie, discusses the future of privacy and security, the subject of the September single-topic issue of Scientific American magazine. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news...
How I Stole Someone's Identity
The author asked some of his acquaintances for permission to break into their online banking accounts. The goal was simple: get into their online accounts using the information about them, their families and acquaintances that is freely available online...
