Technology and the Emerging Post-Privacy Era

Do you promise to tell the truth on however many phones you carry?

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.

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.

Without explicit safeguards, your personal biometric data are destined for a government database

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. Larry Greenemeier reports

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.

There are ways to protect personal information while still enjoying much of what the Web has to offer

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 [...]

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

Should the FBI be able to break into private electronic communications via existing software vulnerabilities?

The outdated 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act considers e-mail "abandoned" and searchable if it's stored for more than 180 days on a server.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

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

A guy stole my iPhone. I tracked it and posted his address online. Was that wrong?

A factory reset may not be enough to wipe the data from a smart phone you're planning to recycle. Larry Greenemeier reports

If passed, such a law would have a costly and damaging effect on research

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. Web sites mentioned in this episode include www.SciAm.com/sciammag; www.snipurl.com/sciamfootball

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"

Night-vision cameras, biometric sensors and other gadgets already give snoops access to private spaces. Coming soon: palm-size "bug-bots"

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

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

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

In spite of recent legislation, tougher laws are needed to prevent insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of genetic tests

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

A versatile assortment of computational techniques can protect the privacy of your information and online activities to essentially any degree and nuance you desire