How is the NSA Putting Your Privacy at Risk?

Within the last couple of weeks, 29 year old Edward Snowden has become famous.  He’s not an actor, or singer, or author; his “fame” came from telling the world that everyone’s privacy is at risk because the NSA (National Security Agency) has been spying on Americans for years.  It’s the job of the NSA to keep the United States safe from terrorism.  Everyone knew without it being spoken that spying was involved, but most people were surprised at the extent of this spying.  It’s expected that terrorist groups or people with ties to known terrorists were probably targets, but no one thought that the private e-mails and telephone conversations of Joe Public would be compromised.

Anyone can be a target of the NSA.  E-mails are flagged by certain keywords that are considered “terroristic” in nature, like “bomb”, “gun”, “shooting”, etc.  Unfortunately, some of these words are used in conversation that has nothing to do with terrorism, however, an e-mail to “Aunt Sally” that talks about someone “shooting a video” near your home could lead to suspicion.  Not only that, but Aunt Sally will probably be checked out as part of your “conspiracy”.

Is there really a threat to our security or are we all simply paranoid?  According to the NSA, there have been more than 50 terrorist threats that have been discovered and blocked (one of which was targeting the New York Stock Exchange) since the spying program was started after September 11, 2001.  Knowing that these threats have been discovered and blocked, do you now feel better that the government is taking away some of your privacy?  Will you re-think some of the wording that you use in your e-mails so they won’t be targeted?  Telling a friend you went to the movies and you thought the latest hit was really a “bomb” could be re-phrased, but should we really have to think so hard about our choice of words?   Then consider your phone conversations; do you ever vent about your frustration with some politicians?  One red flag and all of your phone records will be reviewed.

The Invasion of “Cyber-Bullies”

Bullies have been around for decades.  Before the Internet, bullying was limited to the school yard or neighborhoods.   The victim was confronted by the bully and a group of his or her friends and taunted.  A lot of times, after the last school bell rang, the taunting became physical and the victim was beaten up.  The reasons for the bullying were varied.  Maybe the victim was from a poor family and couldn’t afford all the newest clothes.  It could have been because a child wore glasses, or braces, or had freckles.  It could even have been because the teacher singled out one child to always help pass out test papers or to answer questions in class.  Whatever the so-called reason was, bullies were an ever-present threat to the happy childhood of many kids.  Today is no different except that in this age of technology, most of the bullying happens over the Internet.  Welcome to the age of the cyber-bully.

Bullying is no longer confined to the school yard or the neighborhoods.  Now, a cyber-bully can hide behind a computer and remain nameless and faceless.  The attacks no longer happen just at school; they are carried out over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Since most kids today have cell phones that also take really good pictures, it’s easy for one to snap an unflattering picture of a classmate and send it over the Internet for all to see.  Captions are added to make the pictures even more humiliating.  In the movie “Mean Girls”, the group of “cool girls” had a “burn book” with photos and comments about those they hated.  Today, that “burn book” is a Facebook page made for the sole purpose of hurting others.

During the last few weeks, I have seen quite a few stories on the news about kids, some as young as 10, killing themselves because they were cyber-bullied.  Why?  Because some nameless, faceless cowards started rumors about them online, or posted pictures of them that they were embarrassed by.  And, yes, these cyber-bullies are cowards.  They don’t have the nerve to say something face to face, but behind a computer screen, they’re brave.  A very unnerving facet of all this is that the cyber-bully could be the victims best friend in real life; the friend that he or she confides in and who pretends to give support. 

   

Parents need to talk to their kids about this issue.  Kids need to understand that what happens online is unimportant.  What’s important is real life.  Those who know you know what is true and what is false.  The kids also need to know that they have to confide in a parent or teacher if they find themselves in a cyber-bullying situation.  How many lives could have been saved if these kids knew they could talk to someone about what they were going through?  The schools need to be made aware of any instances of cyber-bullying.  In some cases, the police should get involved.  If things get out of hand, the police will be able to track down a cyber-bully.

Above all, the victims of cyber-bullying need to know that suicide is never the answer.  It may seem like all is hopeless, but it’s not.  Dear Abby once said that suicide is “a permanent solution to a temporary problem”.  This is so true.  Parents should monitor their kids’ social media pages.  They can’t let this go on until it’s too late.  Let your kids know not to give a cyber-bully the power to control their lives.  Cyber-bullies and real life bullies truly are just cowards who act tough to appear brave.  The only way to stop them is to take a stand and show them that their words can’t hurt you.  Hold your head up high and don’t listen to the whispered comments or read their hate on social media.  If everyone took a stand against these bullies, they would continue to move on to the next victim and the next until they realize that no one cares what they have to say.  It’s up to the parents to teach their kids the art of ignoring.

We all want our kids to be safe.  Please take a few minutes to download the free Privacy Guide located at the top of this page.  It will give suggestions and tips on how to stay safe in many online and off line situations.

Your Old E-Mail Can be Read Without a Warrant

What do you do with your old e-mails?  Do you just let them sit in the “Read Mail” folder, or do you permanently delete them?  If you let them sit until they automatically disappear from the “Read Mail” folder, you may have a problem. 

If you have e-mail that is over 180 days old stored in a cloud server, it is considered “legally abandoned” and can be read by any government agency without obtaining a warrant.  This means that if you use Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, AOL Mail, G-Mail, etc, your privacy could be at risk.  If you store your e-mail on your hard drive, however, a search warrant is needed no matter how old the mail is.

The law that permits the release of e-mail without a warrant is the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which is from 1986.  In 1986, most people who used e-mail would delete it immediately after reading it to save on computer storage space.  There was very little chance that your average citizen would have an e-mail in storage that was 180 days old. Today, however, with the use of cloud servers, storage space is just about unlimited.  E-mails are read, then left forgotten in the “Read Mail” files.  Unfortunately, the laws haven’t been updated to keep up with the rapidly growing technology.

Recently, the ACLU requested information from the IRS under the Freedom of Information Act.  In response, the IRS indicated that their criminal investigation department does read citizens’ e-mails without obtaining search warrants.  This is one of the reasons why an update of the ECPA is needed in order to protect the privacy of all US citizens when it involves any digital communications.

The ACLU also sent a request under the Freedom of Information Act to the FBI.  The response indicated warrants aren’t generally gotten, but the FBI wouldn’t come out and say for sure.  As a way of explanation, the FBI provided the ACLU with excerpts from two of its Domestic Investigations and Operations Guides; one from 2008 and one from 2012.  Both state that “FBI agents only need a warrant for emails or other electronic communication that are unopened and less than 180 days old.”  

Obviously, the time for modification of the ECPA is well over-due.  Since 1877, any government agency was required to obtain a warrant to read any personal mail sent via the US Postal Service.  Now is the time for this policy to be expanded to include e-mail and any other electronic communications.  In the meantime, if you want to keep your privacy, make sure you use the “Delete Permanently” button provided each time you read your e-mail.  For most of us, this isn’t a matter of covering up criminal activity; it’s to protect our privacy.

 Please go to the top of this page and download the free Internet Privacy Guide.  There are many other tips and suggestions on how your privacy can remain safe both on-line and off.