Blog Posts Tagged with Privacy and Security

How would we describe PrivacyCon 2020? Is it Burning Man without the flames? The New Orleans Jazz Festival – minus the jazz and the festival? The best way to know what PrivacyCon is all about is to mark your calendar for July 21, 2020, and attend the FTC’s fifth annual gathering of leading privacy researchers. And check out our Call for Presentations to see if PrivacyCon would be a good forum for your recent research.

What’s the future of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule? That’s the subject of today’s FTC workshop. If you’re COPPA-conscious, watch the webcast. The link will go live moments before the 9:00 ET start time.
 

When consumers apply for credit, housing, or employment, consumer reports are often used to help decide whether they can get that loan, apartment, or job. With so much at stake, the accuracy of those reports is of the utmost importance. On December 10, 2019, the FTC and CFPB will host a workshop to discuss issues related to the accuracy of traditional credit reports and background screening reports used by prospective employers and landlords.

For businesses that choose to participate, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework establishes a process to allow them to transfer consumer data from European Union countries to the United States in compliance with EU law. In return, companies must follow the framework’s requirements.

The data that Facebook collects about its users could reveal a lot about users’ personalities. A company named Cambridge Analytica sure thought so. The FTC alleges Cambridge Analytica used false and deceptive tactics to harvest personal information from tens of millions of Facebook users – data later used to profile and target U.S. voters.

Patch your software. Segment your network. Monitor for intruders. According to tech experts, those are security basics for businesses of any size. But when you’re industry giant Equifax – a company in possession of staggering amounts of highly confidential information about more than 200 million Americans – it’s almost unthinkable not to implement those fundamental protections.

The FTC has been keeping a close watch on the Internet of Things since the Internet of Things became a thing to watch. That includes law enforcement actions against companies alleged to have sold vulnerable connected devices that put consumers’ sensitive information at risk. Affected devices could even become – in effect – zombies that do the bidding of malicious botnets that threaten the Internet.

The stars are aligning – the privacy and security stars, that is. The FTC’s fourth PrivacyCon convenes today, June 27, 2019. Experts from around the globe will discuss their latest research into privacy and data security, and the consumer protection implications of their findings. Minutes before FTC Chairman Simons convenes PrivacyCon at 9:15 ET this morning, visit the event page to watch the webcast live. Join the discussion on Twitter, using the hashtag #PrivacyCon19.

 

In just a few years, the FTC’s PrivacyCon has become an Information All-Star Game, complete with panels as high-flying or power-hitting as the Slam Dunk Contest or Home Run Derby. (OK. High-flying and power-hitting if you’re a researcher, academic, or advocate interested in data security and consumer privacy.) The FTC just announced the agenda for the fourth annual PrivacyCon on June 27, 2019. Consult your calendar and save the date.