Carnegie Mellon University
January 24, 2011

Media Advisory: Carnegie Mellon Experts Available To Discuss How To Stay Safe Online

International Data Privacy Day is January 28; CMU TV Studio Available for Interviews

Contact: Ken Walters / 412-268-1151 / walters1@andrew.cmu.edu

What: With the world going digital from laptops to smartphones, there are increasing concerns about data privacy. What happens to the sensitive information we provide online? And what can we do to protect it? To recognize International Data Privacy Day, Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College will be hosting a panel discussion with CMU's data privacy researchers.

Who: Carnegie Mellon researchers are world renowned for their work in data privacy issues, and CMU's CyLab is one of the world's premier research programs in cyber privacy and security. Some of the Carnegie Mellon faculty members available to discuss data privacy issues include:

  • Alessandro Acquisti, who has done extensive research on data privacy issues regarding social security numbers and how individuals make privacy decisions;
  • Lorrie Cranor, who has authored more than 80 research papers on data privacy issues, including online privacy, phishing, spam and electronic voting;
  • Steve Fienberg, who is an expert on protecting confidentiality in census data and recently began a new online journal, The Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality;
  • Jason Hong, who can discuss secure home computing and security issues related to mobile devices and applications;
  • Travis Breaux, whose research focuses on ensuring that information systems comply with government laws, regulations, and policies;
  • Norman Sadeh, professor in the School of Computer Science and co-founder of Wombat Security Technologies, which commercializes solutions to combat phishing attacks.

When: Carnegie Mellon experts will be available during the week to discuss data privacy issues with the media. A panel session with the experts listed above will take place from noon to 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26. In addition, demos of several privacy tools developed at CMU will be shown (including the privacyfinder.org search engine, privacy "nutrition labels," and the Locaccino location-sharing system).

Where:
Hamburg Hall Room 1000, 4800 Forbes Avenue on the Carnegie Mellon campus.

CMU TV Studio: We can connect these experts to your outlet through Carnegie Mellon's new state-of-the-art TV studio. Working with Pittsburgh International Telecommunications (PIT), we offer domestic and international connectivity via satellite and fiber. PIT owns and operates one of the largest satellite facilities in the world. Please contact Ken Walters at walters1@andrew.cmu.edu or 412-268-1151 for more information and to make arrangements.

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