Privacy Musings Blog : what do your devices reveal?

'Deeply Seeking' your personal, professional and behavioral information

DeepSeek has made news headlines over the past several weeks for multiple reasons - innovation in artificial intelligence and then a growing list of bans based on security and privacy concerns. What are the major concerns and what risks are hiding in plain sight?

Cyber safety is a risk reduction game that involves tools, people and process. So, when it comes to the home, what can people do? We present 7 themes for cyber safety in the connected home that people can do for free to stay safer online.

The Supreme Court just upheld the TikTok ban essentially accepting the risks the app poses to our privacy and cybersecurity in the context of national security. But why isn't this a broader conversation about all apps, devices and websites that Americans have access to? Did we lose an opportunity for a more comprehensive privacy and cybersecurity conversation?

Apps, apps every where but not an app to trust! Apps are a significant and easy vector of cyber attack in to our homes and small businesses. Worse yet, the data they collect can be used by 'good' guys and bad guys alike to target us in many ways including targeted, personalized cyber attacks. So, what do these apps know about us?

The economic impact of connecting a home to the internet is several orders of magnitude larger than the cost of connectivity. Whole new economies have emerged around the creation, consumption, distribution and storage of data. Broadband service providers are the enablers of these economies and new revenue opportunities abound.

Is there a link between our online privacy and the 4th Amendment? Will legislation and fines be able to assure us a more private and secure internet experience? What are the lessons of history? The need to take control by ourselves is now more than ever before.

Do we pay different prices for products and services based on what data is collected about us? Could we be excluded or discriminated against as a result of the data that our apps collect about us? What are the real, tangible costs to our wallet as a result of companies collecting data about us thousands of times each day?

We have a connected home. How often do we pause to think what is the Attack Surface of your connected home to someone with malicious intent? Homes today have storage, compute and networking that rival a small enterprise from 20 years back. So, don't we need to think about the online security and privacy risk that comes with it?

What really happens in the connected home? Who is listening to us? Who is collecting information about us? Where is information being shared? Are devices and the websites we access communicating with known violators of our privacy?

How aware do we need to be about our online privacy? How much information is being collected about us daily? How many companies get access to our information every day? How do we, as Americans, take action and has there been precedent on similar issues?

How often do you click 'I agree' to 'Terms and Conditions' or 'Privacy Policy' on an app or website? Do you wonder what happens afterwards? Do you worry about what information you reveal to these companies and what they do with the information?

Privacy Musings

About this blog

'Deeply Seeking' your personal, professional and behavioral information

7 themes for cyber safety in the connected home

TikTok ban - one mole whacked, a million to go

Consumer apps - the spy you love

Home IoT and the cybersecurity revenue opportunity for broadband service providers

That Uneasy Feeling ... Like You Are Being Watched

Honey, What Is Our Monthly Prime Vulnerability Moment Bill?

Connected, Unprotected Devices And Apps - What Can Go Wrong?

A September's Tale Of (Non) Privacy

"Mom, Dad - Who Is Our Family's Chief Privacy Officer?"

I Agree To Your Terms Of Service And Privacy Policy