|
|
 |
Private information retrieval is something we all wanted but didn’t believe exists.
- Vinod Vaikuntanathan, Cryptographer, MIT
|
|
|
Welcome to Snippets—Duke University released a report demonstrating how easy it is to buy personal data about a targeted group, in this case, active and former military personnel. Researchers bought tens of thousands of records, paying as little as $0.12 a piece.
Plus, privacy experts argue for the power of decoupling as a way to regain control of consumer privacy, YouTube's ad blocker detection may violate EU privacy law, truly private search edges closer to reality, and so much more.
|
|
|
|
|
US military personnel data sold at a bargain
|
 |
|
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
|
A recent study from Duke University found that data brokers are selling sensitive data for thousands of current and former US military personnel for as little as one cent per record.
|
- Researchers warn the data, which contains names, addresses, financial and family information, could make military personnel and their loved ones targets of misinformation and blackmail.
- The researchers themselves purchased data for 45,000 active and retired military members, as well as data for 5000 family members and friends. Each record cost between $0.12 to $0.32.
- Researchers noted that even larger data sets were available—with some brokers selling data for 1.5 million service members for 1 cent a record.
- As most data broker sites lack access controls and disclosures of intended use, researchers believe these sites could aid international spies in accessing classified information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
🥞 Make pancakes with AI! What could go wrong??
|
|
When using AI, control is key.
From automating decisions about something life changing, like a home loan, to doing something as simple as making pancakes—governing the flow of data into and out of an LLM is critical to using AI tools safely and responsibly.
Watch what happens when things go awry and learn how Transcend Pathfinder can help.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Decoupling as a tool to reclaim consumer privacy
|
 |
|
FRANCESCO MUZZI/STORYTK
|
Against the backdrop of surveillance capitalism i.e. companies collecting and selling data to target ads, and the increasing use of cloud services—experts are suggesting that decoupling our identities from data could help consumers take back control of their privacy.
|
- According to the authors, decoupling can better protect data in motion, data stored on cloud servers, and data used for advanced computation.
- To limit service providers’ access to private data, the authors propose decoupling at two levels: organizational (to split data across entities) and functional (across software layers, such as user authentication and device connectivity).
- The primary upside of decoupling is that it removes the possibility of a single point of failure, providing an extra layer of security at every point of the data’s life cycle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
YouTube’s ad blocker detection may violate EU law
|
 |
|
AFP/GETTY IMAGES
|
YouTube's ad-blocker detection mechanism, which was rolled out in Europe earlier this year, is under the lens for potentially violating the European Union's ePrivacy Directive.
|
- German Pirate Party MEP, Patrick Breyer, has formally requested a legal position on whether YouTube's JavaScript-based scripts, which detect the use of ad-blocking software, require explicit user permission under Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive.
- Alexander Hanff, an expert advisor to the European Data Protection Board, lodged a complaint with Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, accusing YouTube of unlawfully deploying ad-blocker detection tools and breaching privacy laws.
- According to Hanff, YouTube's script detects what software users are running on their devices, as well as how their browsers behave in relation to their private activities—which he sees as a violation of EU citizens' privacy rights.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Open AI announced a massive upgrade to ChatGPT at their inaugural developer event.
- US House representatives call for a national privacy standard.
- Experts dissect the latest in children’s privacy protection.
- How can marketers achieve growth amidst privacy regulation?
- Plaintiffs demand interest payment after Meta missed the deadline in a $725 million settlement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Private online search edges closer to reality
|
 |
|
Allison Li for Quanta Magazine
|
Three researchers have developed a new version of private information retrieval, which allows users to access public databases without revealing what they've accessed—making truly private search a distant possibility.
|
- The researchers developed a method to transform database information into a mathematical expression, which servers can evaluate to extract the required data.
- Though the current method isn’t practically applicable due to immense time and storage requirements, the researchers believe that with future optimization, private database lookups could become possible.
- Despite several setbacks and initial issues with security, researchers are optimistic, with one cryptographer calling the result "beyond everything we had hoped for.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AI developers unite against paying for copyrighted content
|
 |
|
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
|
The AI industry’s most prominent players are speaking up after the US Copyright Office opened public comments on the prospect of new regulation to govern AI’s use of copyrighted content.
|
- Microsoft warned licensing would monopolize the market by eliminating small developers and Meta argued rights holders wouldn’t earn much royalty for one sample in a vast dataset.
- Meanwhile, Google likened AI training to human memorization and Apple pushed for the right to copyright AI-generated code.
- Other arguments cited creative limitations, legal precedents (Sega vs Accolade), copyright law changes in other countries that support AI development, and the billions in capital investment that has flowed into the sector so far.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Confidently deploy AI with Transcend Pathfinder
|
|
A first-of-its-kind solution for AI governance, Pathfinder gives your company the technical guardrails it needs to adopt new AI technologies securely and responsibly. Use Pathfinder to:
💡 Handle enterprise AI adoption with confidence
👁️ Gain real-time visibility into AI deployments
✅ Strengthen compliance
Pathfinder is currently only available in the exclusive early access phase for select enterprise partners. Learn more and join the waitlist below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Snippets is delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning by Transcend. We're the platform that helps companies put privacy on autopilot by making it easy to encode privacy across an entire tech stack. Learn more.
|
|
|
|
You received this email because you subscribed to Snippets. Did someone forward this email to you? Head over to Transcend to get your very own free subscription! Curated in San Francisco by Transcend.
|
|
|
|
|
|
