more on ThePrivacyPlace.Org 2005 Privacy Survey is Underway

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bob Alberti <alberti () sanction net>
Date: November 3, 2005 6:24:45 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: aianton () mindspring com
Subject: RE: [IP] ThePrivacyPlace.Org 2005 Privacy Survey is Underway
Reply-To: alberti () sanction net

Having taken this brief survey, I have only one concern.  The survey  
seems
to assume that one believes that the online privacy policies reflect any
actual practices, or are backed up by any enforcement.

While I believe that major organizations such as eBay, Amazon, or  
major U.S.
retailers operate under laws and regulations that offer a course of  
redress
against violations of their own policies, I don't believe those policies
actually offer me much protection.  The likelihood that I would be  
able in
the event of a policy violation to trace it back to one of those
organizations seems extremely slim.  That I could do so in a manner that
would stand up in court seems even less likely.  That chance that I  
could
bring a complaint against a major organization that would result in
significant redress seems vanishingly small.

And with any organization less well-known than a U.S. retailer, I  
just cross
my fingers and hope everything works out.

My personal practice is instead to keep a close eye on my financial and
personal data reports (credit card bills, phone records, etc.) in  
order to
catch any abuses as soon after they occur as possible.

So one question that seems to be missing from this survey might be  
"Do you
believe the privacy policies you read online amount to a hill of  
beans when
it comes to providing any real protection against identity theft or data
loss?"

My answer would be "no," for several reasons.

1) These policies are fluid.  I could post my information on Monday  
under
very strict policies, and return on Tuesday to find that all of the  
policies
have been revised.  What, then, is the protection of the data I  
posted on
Monday?

2) The organizations involved could be anywhere, and not subject to  
national
or international laws.  Registrar listings and network traces are of  
limited
use.  If the Russian mafia wants my credit card info, all they need  
to do is
register with U.S. based front organizations, and I'd have little way to
tell.

3) Even if an organization were legitimate today, it could be purchased
tomorrow by a company with a completely different set of privacy  
laws.  How
would my information be protected if today's small U.S. Pharmaceutical
retailer is purchased tomorrow by an investment firm registered out of
Bermuda?

4) Where's the inforcement and regulation?  Where are the "Net  
Police"?  To
whom could I turn were I to have a complaint?

Given the current state of affairs on the Internet, I don't read the  
Privacy
Policies because I don't think they offer me any real protection.  I  
depend
instead on the good reputation of known, stable organizations, and  
try to
remain vigilant against any abuses.

Beyond that, I cross my fingers.

Bob Alberti, CISSP, President                        Sanction, Inc.
Phone: (612) 486-5000 ext 211                         PO Box 583453
http://www.sanction.net                         Mpls, MN 55458-3453

"They SAY that your network is secure, but how can you be certain?"


-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 4:51 PM
To: ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: [IP] ThePrivacyPlace.Org 2005 Privacy Survey is Underway




Begin forwarded message:

From: "Annie I. Anton" <aianton () mindspring com>
Date: November 3, 2005 5:02:12 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Favor?


Hi Dave,

It's time for our annual NSF-funded privacy survey.  We need to
attract several thousand respondents to ensure the quality of our
research and analysis.  Would you please take a few minutes to take
the survey?  Also, if you would be so kind as to forward the
announcement below to your students, colleagues and IPers, I'd be
most appreciative!   In an effort to attract more participants, we
have a couple of $50 Gift Certificates as well as IBM giveaways.

Thank you very much!

Cheers,
Annie



ThePrivacyPlace.Org 2005 Privacy Survey is Underway!

Researchers at ThePrivacyPlace.Org are conducting an online survey
about privacy policies and user values.    The survey is supported by
an  NSF ITR grant (National Science Foundation Information Technology
Research) and will help us with our investigations of privacy policy
expression and user comprehension.

The URL is:  http://survey.theprivacyplace.org/

We need to attract several thousand respondents, and would be most
appreciative if you would consider helping us get the word out about
the survey which takes about 5  to 10 minutes to complete.  The
results will be made available in 2006 via our project website
(http://www.theprivacyplace.org/).


Prizes include
$50 Amazon.com gift certificates
and
IBM sponsored giveaways!


On behalf of the research staff at ThePrivacyPlace.Org, thank you!

Annie Antón

--
______________________________________________________________________
Annie I. Antón, Ph.D.
Visiting Scholar (Faculty Sabbatical), Purdue University
Associate Professor of Software Engineering, North Carolina State
University
Director, The Privacy Place (http://theprivacyplace.org)

Purdue University
Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security
Recitation Building
656 Oval Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2086 U.S.A.
______________________________________________________________________

Office:  765.496.7470
Fax:      765.496.3181
Email:   anton () ncsu edu
URL:     http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/faculty/anton
______________________________________________________________________


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