iOS 15: What You Need to Know
The Reality of Apple’s New "Child Safety” Features
A Quick Breakdown
On August 5th Apple announced three new measures against the dissemination of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM):
Communication safety in Messages: The Messages app will warn children and their parents when receiving or sending sexually explicit photos. This applies to both iMessage and SMS messages.
CSAM detection: Apple will detect known CSAM images on user devices and iCloud accounts then report such instances to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Expanding guidance in Siri and Search: Siri and Search will intervene when users perform searches for queries related to CSAM. These interventions will explain the problematic nature of the content and provide resources to get help.
The Risks of Client-Side Scanning
Client-side scanning effectively breaks end-to-end encryption (E2EE). The purpose of E2EE is to render a message unreadable to any party excluding the sender and recipient but client-side scanning will allow third parties to access content in the event of a positive match.
While CSAM is a uniquely sensitive application, there is no way to ensure that such technology will be exclusive to CSAM or that it will not produce false positives.
Government Backdoors
Service providers are incessantly pressured by external bodies to open the doors to our data. When we allow E2EE to break for certain cases, we introduce a problematic precedent: encryption will be guaranteed until it’s not. This allows for government onlookers to interfere in private communications.
The Risk for Vulnerable Populations
Parents of children under the age of 13 will be notified when their child has either sent or received sexually explicit imagery. Though this may sound reasonable in theory, there is no way to ensure that this tool will not be applied in a way that will cause harm or that it will only be applied to users under the age of 13. Such an initiative poses a risk for LGBTQ+ youth and individuals in abusive relationships as it may exist as a form of stalkerware.
The Verdict
Apple has taken its first step down a very slippery slope. Apple has fleshed out a dangerous tool that is at risk for government backdoors as well as misuse by bad actors.
Anonymity in the Digital Age: Erasing Your Online Presence
If you’ve ever voted, had a job, rented an apartment, or had a phone number, chances are there’s record of it online. While completely deleting yourself from the internet may be a longshot, there are steps you can take remove a great deal of your virtual presence. Here are a few tips to start 2021 with a clean(ish) slate.
Start with social media
Social media is the biggest culprit when it comes to turning your personal life into public info. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, Tik Tok, you know the big ones. They’ve got to go. Done? Cool. Now it’s time to pull up MySpace, Foursquare, About Me, all the ones you forgot about.
Cut ties with information brokers
Information brokers are simply sites which sell your data. Think Whitepages, PeekYou, Intelius, Acxiom, and Datalogix. Such sites aggregate data from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, voter registration records, and social media, among many others. Start by Googling yourself and remove yourself from each site— there should be an option to opt out. Check out this Free DIY Opt-Out Guide from DeleteMe.
Delete your shopping accounts
No doubt e-commerce has transformed the shopping experience for the better, but it has also made your personal data easier to access than ever before. Shopping sites have access to your browsing habits, contact information, address, and payment information. Though secure protocols are often used on e-commerce sites, there’s always the risk of a data breech, as in the case of Macys.com. If you’re looking to clear the internet of unnecessary data attached to your identity, make sure you delete your accounts on any and all online retailers with whom you have done business.
Clean up your mailbox
Chances are, you have signed up for a few newsletters in the name of a discount code here and there. Though its cant be argued that these promotions come in handy, there are a few tradeoffs, one of which is your data. Sift through your email and instead of just unsubscribing, skim the terms of service, and make sure you delete your actual accounts rather than just cancelling your subscription.
Keep up the good work
After following these steps, make sure to check in every once in a while. It’s easier maintain a tidy space than it is to overhaul a big mess. Google yourself every month or two and make sure your personal life isn’t on blast for all to see.