What Would You Give Up for Free Coffee?
This month we’re going to focus on a close cousin of Information Security: Information Privacy. Increasingly, whether it’s social media or use of wi-fi, you’re being asked to trade your information for some free service. A few months ago we talked about those social media quizzes that ask you what your favorite movie is, when in fact those quizzes are used primarily by marketers (or attackers) to build profiles about us. Here’s a story about a business that trades coffee for information.
National Public Radio (NPR) is reporting on the Shiru Cafe near Brown University. The shop only sells to students and faculty members, and instead of paying for coffee in cash or credit card, students pay with information. (Faculty has the option to pay cash). Per the article, “To get the free coffee, university students must give away their names, phone numbers, email addresses, and majors, or in Brown’s lingo, concentrations. Students also provide dates of birth and professional interests, entering all of the information in an online form.” In turn, Shiru sells the information to sponsors who want to market to, recruit, or otherwise reach out to the students. For now, Shiru says that it only sells aggregate data, not individual or identifiable information.
Students seem OK with the arrangement, for now, being accustomed to sharing information broadly. However, we’ll have to see over time if the information gets breached. Also, because students have no control over who buys their information, it is possible that it will be sold to companies whose social or political positions make them unpopular to at least some students.
What can you do?
Here’s a general watchword about all information services: if you’re not paying for the product, you’re the product. Free services like Facebook and Gmail enable communication and allow people to keep in touch across years and miles, but they also enable corporations to trade on your likes, dislikes, plans, and relationships. Keep that in mind and be thoughtful about what you share, and with whom. That free cup of coffee may carry a steeper price down the road.
About Cybersafe
The Division of Information Technology is dedicated to informing the community of the latest cybersecurity threats. Visit fitnyc.edu/cybersafe and stay tuned for emails from [email protected] for the latest from the Cybersafe campaign at FIT.
-Walter Kerner
Assistant Vice-President and Chief Information Security Officer