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In this video, we’ll introduce some core concepts related to personal data online. We’ll also touch on why privacy matters. You will even find out for yourself if your accounts have been involved in a major security breach.
New Terms:
- Breach / Leak -- A forced or unintentional release of private data from an online service.
- Anonymity -- The ability to exist, and especially communicate, in a manner that does not reveal any personally identifiable information about the source.
- Privacy -- Unhindered agency to express oneself selectively, with direct control over one’s own information and explicit boundaries.
- Authenticity -- Provide, with a high level of confidence, an assurance of the identity of an individual or message through reliable and verifiable means.
Further Reading:
Yahoo Hack: 1bn accounts compromised by biggest data breach in history
[MUSIC]
0:00
Welcome to the Security Literacy course.
0:04
Thanks so much for joining us.
0:06
The Internet is an incredible resource for
knowledge and communication.
0:08
Many of us use it multiple times a day,
whether it's for work, or
0:12
school, or
interacting with family and friends.
0:16
We often use it without a second thought
about how our messages are actually sent
0:19
and received.
0:22
The reality is that the technologies
we use are complex, and
0:24
involve many more people and
devices than just you and
0:27
the person you're emailing, or
the website you're visiting.
0:30
And with this additional complexity,
0:33
comes additional risk,
often to your privacy and security.
0:35
This course will equip
you with the tools and
0:39
knowledge necessary to keep
yourself secure online.
0:42
You'll get a crash course in some of
the most common ways that your privacy and
0:44
security can be threatened.
0:48
You'll develop
a personalized framework for
0:49
thinking about your online activity
through the lens of security.
0:51
And you'll establish some best practice
behaviors, so that your personal data and
0:55
privacy remain intact.
0:58
One of the most common threats
to a person's Internet security
1:01
is when an online service has a breach or
a leak of their data.
1:04
This is where the private
information that they hold
1:08
has been made public
without authorization.
1:11
Chances are, you have already received
a notification from a popular service
1:13
informing you that they had a breach and
instructing you to change your password.
1:17
A great website for
such breaches is haveibeenpwned.com.
1:21
It will search any email address
against known service breaches.
1:24
Let me enter my own email as a demo.
1:29
And it looks like my address
was part of a breach.
1:36
As it says below, last.fm, a popular
music streaming service, was hacked, and
1:39
millions of user accounts were exposed.
1:43
I would immediately change my last.fm
password if I hadn't already done so.
1:45
I encourage you to go to this site,
right now, and enter your email, too.
1:50
I'll wait.
1:53
If the site reports that you have
an account with a breached service,
1:55
and you haven't yet
changed your password, do it now.
1:58
It's very important.
2:02
Also change the password for any sites
that use the same password you use for
2:03
the breached site, and
2:06
don't be discouraged if you had
an account show up as pwned.
2:08
It happens to the best of us,
often through no fault of our own.
2:11
This is really one of the main
risks about breaches.
2:15
For example, an attacker may take the
passwords from a seemingly harmless music
2:17
streaming service and try to log into
banks, or to forge other identities.
2:21
This is also why sites often encourage
use of strong, unique passwords.
2:26
Good passwords are one of the easiest and
2:30
most effective ways to defend
against this kind of attack, and
2:32
a great way to take your first step
toward a more secure online presence.
2:35
As we explore online security,
2:40
it's helpful to keep a few
important concepts in mind.
2:42
Anonymity, privacy, and authenticity.
2:45
You may already be familiar
with these terms, but
2:47
it's worth revisiting in
the context of online activity.
2:50
Anonymity, [SOUND] the ability to exist
and, especially, communicate in a manner
2:54
that does not reveal any personally
identifiable information about the source.
2:59
We often think about being
anonymous as a form of privacy.
3:03
While there are similarities,
you can often have one without the other.
3:07
And, in reality, achieving true anonymity
online is quite a difficult task,
3:10
and well outside the scope of this course.
3:15
Privacy, [SOUND] unhindered agency
to express oneself selectively,
3:17
with direct control over one's own
information and explicit boundaries.
3:21
This is one of the most desired
properties of our online activity, and
3:26
certainly one of the most threatened.
3:29
Authenticity, [SOUND] provide, with a high
level of confidence, an assurance of
3:32
the identity of an individual or message
through reliable and verifiable means.
3:36
The significance of this concept may
not seem as obvious as the others when
3:40
relating to online security,
but it is vital.
3:44
When considering privacy online,
there's often a myth
3:47
that you don't have anything to worry
about if you have nothing to hide.
3:49
Edward Snowden, a well-known
figure in privacy and security,
3:54
has this to say in response.
3:57
Arguing that [SOUND] you don't care about
the right to privacy because you have
3:59
nothing to hide is no different than
saying you don't care about free speech
4:03
because you have nothing to say.
4:06
Now that you've been introduced to some
core concepts relating to online security,
4:08
and even had a taste of how it could
affect you directly by checking your email
4:12
against known breaches, I hope that you
have an increased interest in security.
4:16
In the next video, we'll build on this
foundation by diving a bit deeper
4:21
into the parts of Internet traffic
exposed during common online activities.
4:25
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