Readings

The readings for this week focus on Cloud Computing:

• Welcome to the Age of Privacy Nihilism

• What is cloud computing?

• What Jennifer Lawrence can teach you about cloud security

• Why the Equifax breach is very possibly the worst leak of personal info ever

Advertising:

• The Convenience-Surveillance Tradeoff

• How Companies Learn Your Secrets

• How Facebook 'Likes' Reveal Your Intimate Secrets

• Welcome to hell: Apple vs. Google vs. Facebook and the slow death of the web

And the Internet of Things:

• Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway-With Me in It

• "Internet of Things" security is hilariously broken and getting worse

• Which Path to IoT Security? Government Regulation, Third-Party Verification, or Market Forces

• California passes nation’s first IoT security bill – too little too late?

Optional: Cloud Computing

• A view of Cloud Computing

• Can we trust cloud providers to keep our data safe?

• Credit reporting firm Equifax says data breach could potentially affect 143 million US consumers

• Failure to patch two-month-old bug led to massive Equifax breach

• Amazon cloud sputters for hours, and a boatload of websites go offline

• Gmail and other popular Google services experienced a partial service outage at a very bad time

Optional: Online Advertising

• How Much Is Your Data Worth? Mmm, Somewhere Between Half a Cent and $1,200

• 21 Scary Things Big Data Knows About You

• Guardian of the GPL: Online advertising is becoming “a perfect despotism”

• Leaked document reveals Facebook conducted research to target emotionally vulnerable and insecure youth

• Facebook Knew I Was Gay Before My Family Did

• Why Using an Ad Blocker Is Stealing

• What would Kant do? Ad blocking is a problem, but it's ethical

Optional: Internet of Things

• “I Want to Know What Code Is Running Inside My Body”

• Medical Devices Are the Next Security Nightmare

• How a Bunch of Hacked DVR Machines Took Down Twitter and Reddit

• The Internet of Things Needs a Code of Ethics

• Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse

• The New Age of Surveillance

Food for Thought

• Here's How Google Makes Sure It (Almost) Never Goes Down

• Is Advertising Morally Justifiable? The Importance of Protecting Our Attention

  Not specific to online advertising, but perhaps something interesting to think about.

• 6 links that will show you what Google knows about you

  Check out what Google thinks about you.

Questions

Please write a response to one of the following questions:

1. From the readings and in your experience, what exactly is Cloud Computing and what are some ethical issues or concerns regarding it? Considering the Internet meme that "There is no cloud. It's just someone else's computer":

   • As developer, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the Cloud? Describe any experiences you've had in using the Cloud as a development platform, what led you to use it, and if you plan on using it in the future.

   • As a consumer, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the Cloud? Describe what sort of Cloud services you use on a regular basis.

   • Discuss the trade-offs are you making in utilizing these platforms as both a developer and a consumer. At the end of the day, do you trust the Cloud?

2. From the readings and in your experience, what are the ethical issues or concerns surrounding online advertising? Considering the Internet meme that If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold:

   • Is it ethical for companies to gather your information and data mine it in order to sell you products and services? What responsibilities do companies have to their end users in regards to this information?

     Does privacy become an unrealistic expectation in light of this pervasive information gathering?

   • Do you find online advertising too invasive or is it tolerable? Do you use things like NoScript or Adblock? Why or why not? Is it ethical to use these tools?

3. After reading some of the articles above, address the following questions:

   • What is the motivation for developing and building many Internet connected devices? What are the arguments for and against the Internet of Things (IoT)? Would they make our lives easier?

   • How should programmers address the security and privacy concerns regarding IoT? Who is liable for when breaches or hacks happen?

   • What do you believe will be the social, economic, and political impact of the Internet of Things? What role should the government play in regulating IoT devices?

   • Would you fear a pervasively connected world with billions of internet capable devices? Explain why or why not.