Month: April 2016

How Technology Helps Creditors Control Debtors – The Atlantic

Source: How Technology Helps Creditors Control Debtors – The Atlantic

From software that records your every keystroke, to GPS tracking, to ignition kill switches—lenders have more power over their customers than ever.

a woman in Austin, Texas, had fled her abusive husband, only to be tracked down by the subprime lender that had financed her car. By driving to the shelter, she had violated the loan agreement, which restricted her from driving outside of a four county radius. She was tracked down via GPS and her car was repossessed.

The law, working in tandem with DRM, shrank the very concept of ownership, allowing companies to force end-users into renter relationships.

Access controls ensure that the possessions you lease or rent don’t belong to you, even as you bring them into the most intimate parts of your life. The controls make sure that the privacy and security of the debtor come second to the property rights of the lender.

IRS Security – Schneier on Security

Source: IRS Security – Schneier on Security

In addition to sending the IRS your money, you’re also sending them your data.

It’s a lot of highly personal financial data, so it’s sensitive and important information.

Is that data secure?

The short answer is “no.”

So we’re stuck. We have no choice but to give the IRS our data. The IRS isn’t doing a good job securing our data. Congress isn’t giving the IRS enough budget to do a good job securing our data.

Keeping secrecy the exception, not the rule: An issue for both consumers and businesses – Microsoft on the Issues

Source: Keeping secrecy the exception, not the rule: An issue for both consumers and businesses – Microsoft on the Issues

We believe these actions violate two of the fundamental rights that have been part of this country since its founding. These lengthy and even permanent secrecy orders violate the Fourth Amendment, which gives people and businesses the right to know if the government searches or seizes their property. They also violate the First Amendment, which guarantees our right to talk to customers about how government action is affecting their data. The constitutional right to free speech is subject only to restraints narrowly tailored to serve compelling governmental interests, a standard that is neither required by the statute being applied nor met by the government in practice here.

How the Average Triumphed Over the Median

Source: How the Average Triumphed Over the Median

The average has triumphed as the primary statistic of our time. We explore how the average came to dominate how we talk about data, and whether we would be better off using the median.

The supremacy of the average over the median has had profound consequences about how we understand data. In many cases, it has led us astray.

Recognize the huge impact a small number of extreme values – or a skewed distribution – can have on the average.