Over the last few weeks, we have discussed issues related to whistleblowing, security, and privacy. For this third project, you are to work in groups of 2-4 to produce artifacts that inform the public about one of the following topics:
Volkswagon evading emission laws.
Public policy regarding encryption.
Protecting privacy in the Cloud.
In September, it was revealed that Volkswagon had been purposefully evading US emissions laws by installing a "defeat device" that tricked regulators into believing that certain Volkswagon vehicles met Clean Air Act standards:
VW says rogue engineers, not executives, responsible for emissions scandal
Volkswagen details what top management knew leading up to emissions revelations
Former VW employee says he was fired after questioning deletion of documents
For this option, you are to create a short documentary (no more than five minutes) in either video or podcast format that explains what Volkswagon did, how the evasion was discovered, and what ramifications this situation means for Volkswagon. Additionally, the group should investigate and discuss who knew about the evasion and who had the power or responsibility to stop the circumvention.
After you post your documentary to a group member's blog, each person should write a personal reflection that addresses the following questions:
What would cause a large corporation to act so illegally and unethically? Was this fiasco preventable?
If you were one of the engineers on the VW team, what would you have done? What sort of Whistleblower protections could you seek?
Ultimately, who should be held responsible for what happened at VW?
Currently, issues regarding security and encryption are all over the news. For instance, here is John Oliver discussing the recent FBI vs Apple case we explored in class:
Despite the growing importance of encryption, however, most of the public is either oblivious or uninformed about the technology and related issues. For this option, you are to do one of the following:
Write a letter to editor to either the Observer or a newspaper such as South Bend Tribune advocating a position on the issue of encryption.
Write a letter to your government representatives advocating a position on the issue of encryption.
Create a campaign video or radio ad (1 min) that informs the public of an issue regarding encryption and advocates a position on the issue.
After you post your artifact to a group member's blog, each person should write a personal reflection that addresses the following questions:
Is encryption a fundamental right? Should citizens of the US be allowed to have a technology that completely locks out the government?
How important of an issue is encryption to you? Does it affect who you support politically? financially? socially? Should it?
In the struggle between national security and personal privacy, who will win? Are you resigned to a particular future or will you fight for it?
For the final option, your group is to replace a common cloud computing service with a self-hosted or self-managed replacement and then create a written tutorial on how to setup this system and a video demonstration of it in action. Here is a list of possible replacment services (feel free to come up with your own):
ownCloud: Alternative to Dropbox, Google {Drive, Calendar, Constants, etc.}.
Kolab: Alternatie to Google Apps.
Syncthing: Alternative to Dropbox.
GitLab: Alternative to Github.
KeePass: Alternative LastPass.
EtherPad: Alternative to Google Documents.
Tiny RSS: Alternative to Google Reader (RIP).
Subsonic: Alternative to Google Play.
iRedMail: Alternative to GMail.
wallabag: Alternative to Pocket or Instapaper.
After you post your artifact to a group member's blog, each person should write a personal reflection that addresses the following questions:
What trade-offs are you making when using the cloud? Have you consciously evaluated these trade-offs? What is your justification?
Is it ever worth it to manage your own private cloud services? Do you envision a future where you may use your own services rather than third party ones?
Do you have the moral standing to complain about encrouchment on your privacy when you consciously give away your information to third party services?
Your project is due at 11:59 PM Thursday, March 24, 2016.
To submit your project, one group member should post the artifact to their blog. Everyone in the group should then reference it their reflection of the project.