Nathan E Botts / Saturday, June 9, 2018

/ Categories: Personal Health Information, Mobile Health & Health Apps, Privacy & Security

How to Navigate Health App Permissions

An assessment of the article from Wired magazine

SUBJECTIVE: This article published in Wired magazine discusses the long tail of privacy considerations that we need to think through when installing and giving permissions to apps on our smartphones, computers, and other internet connected devices. It brings to light the many different ways in which seemingly innocent functionalities that you turn on in apps can gather a lot of information that is often unknown to the user.

ABSTRACT FROM THE WIRED ARTICLE:

"Thanks to FaceBook, app permissions have popped back into the public’s consciousness again. Last month it was discovered that Facebook had stored the phone logs of Android users who opted sharing their contacts in the days before Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Then this week, during Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony, two representatives asked whether Facebook might be listening to private conversations through our phone microphones and using the info to serve up eerily specific ads. Zuckerberg responded definitively to the questions about the microphone conspiracy theory—“no”—then felt the need to add that Facebook does have access to audio when people record video on their devices for Facebook. “I think that is pretty clear. But I just wanted to make sure I was exhaustive there,” he said."

"But Zuckerberg’s do-si-do with Congress, rather than being clear or exhaustive, showed that people are still genuinely confused about what data their smartphone apps can and can’t access. That’s partly because of app permissions: They’re oversimplified and designed to offer a minimal amount of information, right as they’re asking for access to your data. And while they’ve improved just as apps have, it’s not enough to match the sophistication of the data-gathering technology that now surrounds us."

OBJECTIVE:

This article does not provide any concrete guidance on methods for reducing the amount of access that third-party apps have to your smart devices, but it does provide a number of links to similar reports outlining how companies, services, and games such as Facebook, Pokemon Go, and travel apps such as Path. It also provides some discussion on how application platforms such as Android and iOS are now including further constraints on how developers request and maintain permissions for accessing device information.

ASSESSMENT:

Informative article worth reading to gain a better understanding of the reasons why we should take the time to more consciously keep track of the permissions we give applications that we use.

PLAN:

Start with social networking apps that you use such as FaceBook, Twitter, Linked-In, SnapChat, and any others that you use on a frequent basis. Go into the privacy and sharing settings and make sure that you agree with all of the permissions you are providing those applications.

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Tags: Privacy health apps FaceBook Permissions Pokemon Go iOS Android Wired Magazine

How to Protect Your Privacy as More Apps Harvest Your Data

A New York Times Personal Tech series article by Brian X. Chen

Retrieved By Health eConsultation / Wednesday, May 31, 2017 0 14826 Article rating: 5.0

In this article written by Brian X. Chen from the New York Times he discusses some of the potential ways in which mobile apps that you download to your phone may be collecting and using your personal data in ways you did not know.

One of the key takeaways is that there are ways in which to protect yourself and tools that can help you figure out which apps are collecting your data and how to remove their ability to do so.

Stay Private: How to Hide Your Webcam, Mute Your Mic, and Turn Off Notifications

An article from Zapier

Nathan E Botts / Wednesday, August 2, 2017 0 14834 Article rating: 5.0

One consideration as you gather and store more personal health information on your computer and devices is making sure that you are not inadvertently sharing this information (or some other aspect of your personal health) through your webcam or mic.

This article from Zapier outlines several different ways and some handy applications that can help you control this on your PC or MAC.

Determining the Value of Compromising Your Privacy

An article from Engadget

Nathan E Botts / Sunday, August 13, 2017 0 9932 Article rating: No rating

This article from the Engadget web magazine discusses how your online searching behaviors might be monitored by different companies that you are unaware about. This data is likely used to build profiles that may impact the advertisements you see, credit ratings received, and other potential social network aspects as of yet identified.

Cybersecurity: Crash Course Computer Science #31

Retrieved By Health eConsultation / Wednesday, October 11, 2017 0 14448 Article rating: No rating

Cybersecurity: Crash Course Computer Science #31Cybersecurity is a set of techniques to protect the secrecy, integrity, and availability of computer systems and data against threats. In today’s episode, we’re going to unpack these three goals and talk through some strategies we use like passwords, biometrics, and access privileges to keep our information as secure, but also as accessible as possible. From massive Denial of Service, or DDos attacks, to malware and brute force password cracking there are a lot of ways for hackers to gain access to your data, so we’ll also discuss some strategies like creating strong passwords, and using 2-factor authentication, to keep your information safe. Check out Computerphile’s wonderful video on how to choose a password! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NjQ9b3pgIg Pre-order our limited edition Crash Course: Computer Science Floppy Disk Coasters here! https://store.dftba.com/products/computer-science-coasters Produced in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios: http://youtube.com/pbsdigitalstudios Want to know more about Carrie Anne? https://about.me/carrieannephilbin The Latest from PBS Digital Studios: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1mtdjDVOoOqJzeaJAV15Tq0tZ1vKj7ZV Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrash... Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse Tumblr - http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com Support Crash Course on Patreon: http://patreon.com/crashcourse CC Kids: http://www.youtube.com/crashcoursekids

Sharing Your Electronic Health Record (EHR)

A Video from the NIH All of Us Research Program Channel

Nathan E Botts / Friday, October 27, 2017 0 11772 Article rating: 5.0

From the NIH YouTube Channel: Do you know what information is contained in your electronic health record (EHR)? Eric Dishman, director of the All of Us Research Program, explains what’s in your EHR and why the data is so valuable for researchers.

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What is Health eDefense?

Health eDefense is the act of protecting your personal health information. This not only protects your privacy, security, and safety, but also protects the data of your family, friends, and others in your community.

The Health eDefense platform is dedicated to providing consumers with actionable information on how to protect their personal health information effectively from cyber threats. Health eDefense provides informational content and education related to cyber security, privacy and consent, security, and related topics and policies such as HIPAA and GDPR.

Cyber security is impacting our daily lives, and our personal and protected health information is a target for hackers and criminals looking to make money off of our personal data. Your personal health data will always be about your health, demographics, social, lifestyle, financial history, and other related details. Once taken, they cannot be taken back.

We think the best cybersecurity tool is education and awareness, and we hope to provide users with tools and insight to protect themselves and their data better.