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Digital security · Data protection

Privacy

Your friend posts a photo from last weekend's football game, and a week later a stranger comments on it. How did they find it? Setting up your privacy means deciding who can see what about you. Social media apps offer settings that are worth reviewing carefully, and US laws give you some rights over your data. We'll come back to that photo at the end.

Public and private profiles

Comparison of a public profile, which everyone can access, and a private profile, protected by a padlock that only approved people can get past. Public profile Anyone can see it Private profile Only whoever you approve
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Explain the difference between a public profile and a private profile on a social network and name two advantages of keeping personal accounts private.

Explain the difference between a public profile and a private profile on a social network and name two advantages of keeping personal accounts private.

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The figure shows the privacy settings panel of a social network. Three settings are already configured and one appears undecided. Explain whether you consider the chosen…

The figure shows the privacy settings panel of a social network.

Account privacy Private profile Location sharing Tag approval required Messages from strangers ?

Three settings are already configured and one appears undecided. Explain whether you consider the chosen options suitable for a minor and what option you would recommend for the setting marked with ?, justifying your answer.

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List three specific privacy settings you would review on your main social network — for example, who sees your posts, who can tag you or who can find you by your phone…

List three specific privacy settings you would review on your main social network — for example, who sees your posts, who can tag you or who can find you by your phone number — and explain what each of them improves.

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Your class has a group chat where photos of everyone are shared. Explain what you should keep in mind before uploading a photo featuring someone else and how this…

Your class has a group chat where photos of everyone are shared. Explain what you should keep in mind before uploading a photo featuring someone else and how this relates to the right to one's own image.

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Compare the actual privacy of three channels: a private message on a social network, a class group chat of forty people and a public channel. Explain who can see each…

Compare the actual privacy of three channels: a private message on a social network, a class group chat of forty people and a public channel. Explain who can see each one, who can forward it and what type of content should not travel through any of the three.

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Some people maintain separate online identities depending on the context: a personal account, another for gaming, another intended for their professional future. Analyze…

Some people maintain separate online identities depending on the context: a personal account, another for gaming, another intended for their professional future. Analyze the advantages and risks of separating identities and propose criteria to decide what information goes into each one.

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In mental health or anti-bullying support forums, many people participate under a pseudonym. Analyze what anonymity protects in these spaces, what abuses it allows, and…

In mental health or anti-bullying support forums, many people participate under a pseudonym. Analyze what anonymity protects in these spaces, what abuses it allows, and which model you would defend — total anonymity, persistent pseudonym or real name — giving nuances.

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App permissions and data minimization

A phone with a flashlight app that only needs to switch on the light, but also asks for access to contacts and location, unnecessary permissions. flashlight app also asks for: switch on light contacts location
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When installing a flashlight app, it requests access to your contacts and location. Explain why this request is suspicious, what privacy principle it violates by asking…

When installing a flashlight app, it requests access to your contacts and location. Explain why this request is suspicious, what privacy principle it violates by asking for more data than it needs, and what you would do.

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A free photo editing app states in its terms and conditions that it may use the images you upload "for commercial purposes". Analyze the deal you are accepting (what you…

A free photo editing app states in its terms and conditions that it may use the images you upload "for commercial purposes". Analyze the deal you are accepting (what you give and what you receive) and formulate two questions worth asking yourself before accepting the terms of any free service.

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A social network asks for a photo of your ID card "to verify your account and protect you". Analyze when this might be a legitimate request, what risks handing over an…

A social network asks for a photo of your ID card "to verify your account and protect you". Analyze when this might be a legitimate request, what risks handing over an identity document entails, and what you would check before sending it.

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A store offers a $10\ \%$ discount if you provide your email address and date of birth, and agree to receive "marketing communications". Evaluate that exchange using the…

A store offers a $10\ \%$ discount if you provide your email address and date of birth, and agree to receive "marketing communications". Evaluate that exchange using the data minimization principle and write a reasoned decision: accept as is, negotiate the data you provide, or reject the offer.

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Cookies, location and advertising tracking

Map of a cell phone's locations recorded over a week: a place where the phone stays every night, then school and a friend's house; tracking reveals a person's routines. Locations recorded by the cell phone in one week ? every night school friend's house Where do they sleep? The patterns give it away
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The figure shows the locations that a person's cell phone GPS recorded over a week. Deduce what place the point marked with ? is and explain what other details that map…

The figure shows the locations that a person's cell phone GPS recorded over a week.

? every night: 22:00 – 07:00 School · 08:00 – 15:00 Friend's house · Saturdays

Deduce what place the point marked with ? is and explain what other details that map reveals about the person's life (schedules, relationships, habits). Finish by explaining why location is one of the most sensitive pieces of data handled by your phone.

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When you visit a website, a cookie banner appears with the buttons "Accept all" and "Settings". Explain what types of cookies exist (necessary, preference, ad tracking)…

When you visit a website, a cookie banner appears with the buttons "Accept all" and "Settings". Explain what types of cookies exist (necessary, preference, ad tracking) and what you are accepting with each button.

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Explain what "incognito mode" in a browser hides and does not hide (your internet service provider, the websites you visit, your school, local history) and explain why…

Explain what "incognito mode" in a browser hides and does not hide (your internet service provider, the websites you visit, your school, local history) and explain why its name misleads many users.

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Encryption, shared devices and connected apps

End-to-end encryption: the message leaves the sender's phone already encrypted, passes through the company's server without the company being able to read it, and only the receiver decrypts it. sender receiver company's server not even the company can read it x9#k x9#k encrypted message
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Your younger brother uses your tablet while you are logged in and ends up buying a skin and talking to your friends. Explain what data and accounts of yours are exposed…

Your younger brother uses your tablet while you are logged in and ends up buying a skin and talking to your friends. Explain what data and accounts of yours are exposed when sharing a device and what configuration (user profiles, lock screen, password-protected store) prevents this.

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Explain in your own words what end-to-end encryption is in a messaging app and what it means that "not even the company itself can read your messages". What is the…

Explain in your own words what end-to-end encryption is in a messaging app and what it means that "not even the company itself can read your messages". What is the difference between this and a service that does store and can read conversations?

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In your account settings, a list of "apps with access" appears. Explain what an app connected to your account can do, why it is advisable to revoke those you no longer…

In your account settings, a list of "apps with access" appears. Explain what an app connected to your account can do, why it is advisable to revoke those you no longer use, and how often you would review that list.

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A smart speaker "only listens when activated." Explain what is actually recorded on these devices, where the recordings are stored, what privacy settings review you…

A smart speaker "only listens when activated." Explain what is actually recorded on these devices, where the recordings are stored, what privacy settings review you would perform at home, and in which rooms you would never place one.

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Rights over your data and the balance with security

A person exercises three rights over their data record at a company: access (an eye looking at the record), correct (a pencil crossing out a wrong item and fixing it) and delete (a trash can for deleting the record). you data at the company access correct delete
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Write a plain-English privacy policy for your school app, written so that a fourteen-year-old can understand it: what data it requests, for what exact purpose, how long…

Write a plain-English privacy policy for your school app, written so that a fourteen-year-old can understand it: what data it requests, for what exact purpose, how long it stores it, with whom it shares it, and how to exercise the rights of access and deletion.

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Analyze the phrase "if it's free, you're the product". Is it always true? Compare the business models of advertising, subscriptions and open-source software with…

Analyze the phrase "if it's free, you're the product". Is it always true? Compare the business models of advertising, subscriptions and open-source software with donations, and explain how the chosen model affects how your data is treated.

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A school installs cameras in the hallways and an app that tracks the school bus in real time. Weigh the security they provide against student privacy and formulate three…

A school installs cameras in the hallways and an app that tracks the school bus in real time. Weigh the security they provide against student privacy and formulate three conditions (information for families, proportionality, data retention limits) that should be met.

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Parental control apps allow parents to see their children's location, screen time and messages. Analyze where the balance lies between protection and trust depending on…

Parental control apps allow parents to see their children's location, screen time and messages. Analyze where the balance lies between protection and trust depending on age, and propose a reasonable family agreement for a fourteen-year-old.

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Unit challenge. Have you ever wondered what trace you leave on the Internet and who can access it? Become a home cybersecurity auditor and analyze the exposure of your…

Unit challenge. Have you ever wondered what trace you leave on the Internet and who can access it? Become a home cybersecurity auditor and analyze the exposure of your closest environment.

  1. Data collection: Design a short questionnaire with 5 key questions about privacy (use of strong passwords, public social media profiles, checking app permissions) and give it to 4 people among your family or friends.

  2. Processing and analysis: Enter the results into LibreOffice Calc. Calculate the percentage of safe habits versus risky ones and create a comparative bar graph to visualize whether the level of protection exceeds $50.0\,\%$.

  3. Digital shielding plan: Write a short report (one page) in LibreOffice Writer. In it, analyze how these habits shape the group's digital identity and propose three urgent, reasoned technical measures to protect their personal data (such as two-step verification or digital footprint erasure).

Assessment criteria:

  • Accurate data collection and tabulation with graphical representation in LibreOffice Calc.

  • Critical and correct identification of the risks associated with digital identity.

  • Technical justification and feasibility of the proposed solutions to preserve privacy.

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Summary

See all the exercises in this section