This thesis explores the issue of how to reconcile the value of individual privacy with that of freedom of speech. It argues that there ought to be legal protection against invasion of privacy by the media, and that such protection should be seen as complementary to a system of free expression rather than opposed to such a system. A definition of privacy is outlined which, it is contended, meets the criteria for a coherent, neutral definition. Various reasons for valuing privacy and in favour of protecting the individual's reasonable expectations of privacy are identified. It is argued that lack of precision in the normative realm, in defining with certainty when privacy is invaded, should not be an excuse for leaving the individual without legal protection. There follows an examination of the protection of privacy against media incursions in English, New Zealand, Australian and Canadian law, other than the coincidental protection afforded by certain common law actions. There has been significant judicial and legislative recognition of the need to safeguard privacy interests, and many interesting developments in recent years are discussed. However, none of the countries considered has yet developed effective recourse for victims of unwarranted and invasive publications. It is argued that the relationship between privacy and free speech has been wrongly conceptualised, and that in fact both interests serve the same underlying set of values. Problems arise when privacy and free speech interests are balanced in the abstract rather than in context, and when a simplistic view of press freedom is adopted in disregard of the realities of the modern mass media. Invasive publications generally do not significantly advance free speech interests unless they help to provide the information needed for public decision-making. Furthermore, this information can in many cases be conveyed without detriment by withholding details which disclose identity. A three-step test is proposed to determine whether privacy and free speech interests can be reconciled without compromise to either of them, or whether it is necessary to balance these interests in the context of the case. It will also be maintained that a contextual approach is preferable to the adoption of categories such as "public figures" and "public places". These concepts tend to be misleading, and should be eschewed as analytical tools, since they confuse important questions which require separate analysis. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Location-based services (LBS) are available on a variety of mobile platforms like cell phones, PDA's, etc. and an increasing number of users subscribe to and use these services. Two of the popular models of information flow in LBS are the client-server model and the peer-to-peer model, in both of which, existing approaches do not always provide privacy for all parties concerned. In this work, I study the feasibility of applying cryptographic protocols to design privacy-preserving solutions for LBS from an experimental and theoretical standpoint. In the client-server model, I construct a two-phase framework for processing nearest neighbor queries using combinations of cryptographic protocols such as oblivious transfer and private information retrieval. In the peer-to-peer model, I present privacy preserving solutions for processing group nearest neighbor queries in the semi-honest and dishonest adversarial models. I apply concepts from secure multi-party computation to realize our constructions and also leverage the capabilities of trusted computing technology, specifically TPM chips. My solution for the dishonest adversarial model is also of independent cryptographic interest. I prove my constructions secure under standard cryptographic assumptions and design experiments for testing the feasibility or practicability of our constructions and benchmark key operations. My experiments show that the proposed constructions are practical to implement and have reasonable costs, while providing strong privacy assurances.

We present the results of a survey and interviews focused on user perceptions and behaviors with respect to cloud storage services. In particular, we study behaviors such as which services are used, what types of data are stored, and how collaboration and sharing are performed. We also investigate user attitudes toward cloud storage on topics such as payment, privacy, security, and robustness. We find that users are drawn to cloud storage because it enables robust, ubiquitous access to their files, as well as enabling sharing and collaborative efforts. However, users' preferred medium for file sharing continues to be email, due to its ubiquity and role as "lowest common denominator." Privacy and security are of great concern to users, and though users vocally describe feeling "safe" on the cloud, this is because they actively filter the content they store in cloud services. Payment is a sensitive issue, with users exhibiting a strong aversion to any form of direct payment, preferring even disliked alternative funding mechanisms such as targeted advertising. Finally, the cloud serves as an important backup location for users, although space limitations prevent them from using it as a full backup solution.

This thesis examines the multifarious presentation of one’s identity on a singular social network site through their usage of both “finsta” and “rinsta” accounts on Instagram. A rinsta is one’s primary and more public Instagram account. A finsta is a highly privatized secondary Instagram account that functions as a liminal space for users’ impression management engagements. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants who identified as having created a finsta account and thematic analysis was subsequently employed to understand how they conceptualized their motivations and behaviors within their constructed networks. It was found that users were motivated to create and maintain a finsta by a desire for privacy, social inclusion, and the freedom to generate content that would be considered socially unacceptable on rinsta. This socially unacceptable content was often humorous or emotionally expressive. Finstas are also characterized by in-depth communal interactions in comparison with the more superficial interactions on rinsta. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Instant messaging applications noted significant grow especially in the last decade. In fact, the Internet communication is cheap and convenient way how to communicate with distant people. However, this grow of user communication and data exchange through the online world impacts user security and privacy, as it was also shown recently by WhatsApp privacy issues. Firstly this article evaluates security and privacy issues of current mobile messaging applications. Secondly, we design our basic open source solution with the focus on security, privacy, and user centric features. Furthermore, we provide proof-of-concept implementation of our system

This dissertation investigates the influence of family messages about gender, free expression, conformity, and privacy on coming out disclosures, a difficult experience in today’s society. Using communication privacy management theory, this study explored how heteronormative beliefs, family privacy boundaries, and family communication patterns relate to disclosure concerns. A total of 218 self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) participants were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Participants completed an online survey to measure family privacy orientations, family communication patterns, heteronormative attitudes and beliefs, and disclosure concerns. Six linear regression analyses were performed. The findings suggest that both family privacy orientations and family communication patterns contribute to concerns about disclosing one’s sexual orientation. The study did not find heteronormative beliefs and attitudes to play a significant role in disclosure concerns. Additional findings indicate that family communication patterns inform family privacy orientations, which suggest a more complicated chain of influence. The findings of the study highlight the influence of early communication on LGBT individuals’ long-term ability to communicate about their sexual orientation.

Providing performance feedback in a way that leads to improved performance is an integral aspect to the success of an organization. Past research shows the feedback does not always improve employee performance. Characteristics of feedback can direct attention away from improved performance and toward attention to the self. This study examined the impact of characteristics of feedback delivery on individuals’ tendency to use impression management strategies (exemplification, self-promotion, ingratiation, supplication). The results indicate that participants did not use impression management differently when feedback was delivered publicly versus privately. However, participants reported a higher likelihood to use ingratiation and self-promotion strategies after receiving negative than positive feedback. Discussion of results, along with limitations and directions for future research, are discussed.

Abstract When personal data are collected and utilised to produce personal data intensive services, users of these services are exposed to the possibility of privacy losses. Users’ information privacy concerns may lead to non-adoption of new services and technologies, affecting the quality and the completeness of the collected data. These issues make it challenging to fully reap the benefits brought by the services. The evaluation of information privacy concerns makes it possible to address these concerns in the design and the development of personal data intensive services. This research investigated how privacy concerns evaluations should be developed to make them valid in the evolving data collection contexts. The research was conducted in two phases: employing a mixed-method research design and using a literature review methodology. In Phase 1, two empirical studies were conducted, following a mixed-method exploratory sequential design. In both studies, the data subjects’ privacy behaviour and privacy concerns that were associated with mobility data collection were first explored qualitatively, and quantitative instruments were then developed based on the qualitative results to generalise the findings. Phase 2 was planned to provide an extensive view on privacy behaviour and some possibilities to develop privacy concerns evaluation in new data collection contexts. Phase 2 consisted of two review studies: a systematic literature review of privacy behaviour models and a review of the EU data privacy legislation changes. The results show that in evolving data collection contexts, privacy behaviour and concerns have characteristics that differ from earlier ones. Privacy concerns have aspects specific to these contexts, and their multifaceted nature appears emphasised. Because privacy concerns are related to other privacy behaviour antecedents, it may be reasonable to incorporate some of these antecedents into evaluations. The existing privacy concerns evaluation instruments serve as valid starting points for evaluations in evolving personal data collection contexts. However, these instruments need to be revised and adapted to the new contexts. The development of privacy concerns evaluation may be challenging due to the incoherence of the existing privacy behaviour research. More overarching research is called for to facilitate the application of the existing knowledge. / Tiivistelmä Kun henkilötietoja kerätään ja hyödynnetään dataintensiivisten palveluiden tuottamiseen, palveluiden käyttäjien tietosuoja saattaa heikentyä. Käyttäjien tietosuojahuolet voivat hidastaa uusien palveluiden ja teknologioiden käyttöönottoa sekä vaikuttaa kerättävän tiedon laatuun ja kattavuuteen. Tämä hankaloittaa palveluiden täysimittaista hyödyntämistä. Tietosuojahuolten arviointi mahdollistaa niiden huomioimisen henkilötietoperusteisten palveluiden suunnittelussa ja kehittämisessä. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin, kuinka tietosuojahuolten arviointia tulisi kehittää muuttuvissa tiedonkeruuympäristöissä. Kaksivaiheisessa tutkimuksessa toteutettiin aluksi empiirinen monimenetelmällinen tutkimus ja tämän jälkeen systemaattinen kirjallisuustutkimus. Ensimmäisessä vaiheessa tehtiin kaksi empiiristä tutkimusta monimenetelmällisen tutkimuksen tutkivan peräkkäisen asetelman mukaisesti. Näissä tutkimuksissa selvitettiin ensin laadullisin menetelmin tietosuojakäyttäytymistä ja tietosuojahuolia liikkumisen dataa kerättäessä. Laadullisten tulosten pohjalta kehitettiin kvantitatiiviset instrumentit tulosten yleistettävyyden tutkimiseksi. Tutkimuksen toisessa vaiheessa toteutettiin kaksi katsaustyyppistä tutkimusta, jotta saataisiin kattava käsitys tietosuojakäyttäytymisestä sekä mahdollisuuksista kehittää tietosuojahuolten arviointia uusissa tiedonkeruuympäristöissä. Nämä tutkimukset olivat systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus tietosuojakäyttäytymisen malleista sekä katsaus EU:n tietosuojalainsäädännön muutoksista. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että kehittyvissä tiedonkeruuympäristöissä tietosuojakäyttäytyminen ja tietosuojahuolet poikkeavat aikaisemmista ympäristöistä. Näissä ympäristöissä esiintyy niille ominaisia tietosuojahuolia ja huolten monitahoisuus korostuu. Koska tietosuojahuolet ovat kytköksissä muihin tietosuojakäyttäytymistä ennustaviin muuttujiin, arviointeihin voi olla aiheellista sisällyttää myös näitä muuttujia. Olemassa olevia tietosuojahuolten arviointi-instrumentteja on perusteltua käyttää arvioinnin lähtökohtana myös kehittyvissä tiedonkeruuympäristöissä, mutta niitä on mukautettava uusiin ympäristöihin soveltuviksi. Arvioinnin kehittäminen voi olla haasteellista, sillä aikaisempi tietosuojatutkimus on epäyhtenäistä. Jotta sitä voidaan soveltaa asianmukaisesti arviointien kehittämisessä, tutkimusta on vietävä kokonaisvaltaisempaan suuntaan.

Data represent a key resource for all organizations we may think of. Thus, it is not surprising that data are the main target of a large variety of attacks. Security vulnerabilities and phishing attacks make it possible for malicious software to steal business or privacy sensitive data and to undermine data availability such as in recent ransomware attacks.Apart from external malicious parties, insider attacks also pose serious threats to organizations with sensitive information, e.g., hospitals with patients’ sensitive information. Access control mechanisms are not always able to prevent insiders from misusing or stealing data as they often have data access permissions. Therefore, comprehensive solutions for data protection require combining access control mechanisms and other security techniques,such as encryption, with techniques for detecting anomalies in data accesses. In this the-sis, we develop fine-grained anomaly detection techniques for ensuring in depth protection of data from malicious software, specifically, ransomware, and from malicious insiders.While anomaly detection techniques are very useful, in many cases the data that is used for anomaly detection are very sensitive, e.g., health data being shared with untrusted service providers for anomaly detection. The owners of such data would not share their sensitive data in plain text with an untrusted service provider and this predicament undoubtedly hinders the desire of these individuals/organizations to become more data-driven. In this thesis, we have also built a privacy-preserving framework for real-time anomaly detection.

Many Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) applications go to great lengths to maximize transparency by making available participants\' actions and respective application states to all others in real-time. Designers might intend to enhance coordination through increased transparency, but what other outcomes might be influenced by these choices? We developed two versions of a CSCW application to support a group idea generation task for collocated groups. One version had diminished transparency in comparison to the other. We studied the effects of this varied transparency on the groups\' generativity and collaboration. We found that in modulating transparency there was a trade-off between generativity and collaboration. Groups with diminished transparency felt that their groupmates built on their ideas more, but groups with increased transparency were more generative. These findings are tentative but suggest that the full story of group vs. solitary, private vs. public manipulations of technology, at least in the area of idea generation, is not yet sufficiently theorized or understood. / Master of Science