Privacy Online pt. 2: Reasonable Expectations of Privacy

In commercial transactions, like buying something, there is justifiably a high expectation of privacy. You can reasonably assume that an established or trusted company (and here you must exercise your judgment) will want to be seen as "safe", and thus will share your interests in keeping your data secure.

I see two possible fundamental differences between trying to maintain some level of online privacy once you move your interactions to the web.

First, individuals and small businesses can be attacked from anywhere in the world. People increasingly transmit the most highly guarded information, like credit card numbers and social security numbers. As BBC points out in its controversial expose on botnets, many people are not even aware of the risks. Previously, if someone wanted to gather information to rob the corner store, there’s a good chance that whoever noticed the store would have been noticed in turn. Not anymore.

Still, there are solutions to this problem. For companies that are too small to have in-house help, there are consultants available to set up security. Cyber-crime insurance is a booming industry. Identity theft has become common, but so have strategies for avoiding it and tools for tracking offenders.

The second fundamental difference is of more significance for us as educators. Before, learning one technology for passing private information was likely to last your lifetime. The sealed envelope (with all its potential cheats, like steaming or switching envelopes) lasted from as least the Middle Ages to today.

Today, the nature of what is possible (or likely enough to cause concern) changes so rapidly that we can no longer simply learn how to be safe and stop at that. We must truly be life-long learners, continually informing ourselves and incorporating new strategies and ideas. As educators, we can’t just share information with our students. Instead we must help them develop a mindset of engagement and personal motivation for continual learning.