Digital Security Needs a Work From Home Makeover
Channel: New America
Date: 21/04/2020

Approximately 95% of the US population is living under a state or municipal-level stay-at-home order in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. To ease the massive disruptions caused by this sudden shift, businesses and educational institutions are scrambling to find ways to facilitate work or study from home opportunities. While we’re fortunate to live in an era when technical tools to facilitate communication are widely available, this sudden shift in the way America works and learns is not without consequences. The exponential increase in the use of online tools and connected devices—often by individuals or organizations without much tech expertise—amplifies and uncovers security risks posed by these technologies, hurting our ability to safely and effectively adapt to this global crisis.

Join experts from the Open Technology Institute and Consumer Reports for a virtual event to discuss the security risks and benefits of popular work from home technologies, including conferencing platforms, video calls, connected devices, and home assistants. What privacy and security challenges should you consider when using these technologies? How do you choose which tools to use or purchase? What are the risks and benefits of the technology we are all relying on in the time of COVID-19?

Panelists:

Justin Brookman
Director, Consumer Privacy and Technology Policy, Consumer Reports

Nat Meysenburg
Technologist, New America’s Open Technology Institute

Katie McInnis
Policy Counsel, Consumer Reports

Moderator:

Andi Wilson Thompson
Senior Policy Analyst, New America’s Open Technology Institute

Note: New America is committed to following privacy and security best practices when hosting remote public events. Due to our technological capabilities for large online events at this time, the event will be facilitated as a Zoom webinar, but will be streamed to YouTube so that participants do not have to use Zoom in order to view the event if they so choose. The event will use the Zoom webinar function, not the meeting function, so that no individuals other than the panelists and moderator will be able to communicate, share screens, or send messages. For any attendees who do choose to view the event over Zoom, the list of participants will only be available to New America as the host. The event will be recorded and made available later on YouTube and New America’s website.

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