UNE hosts lecture by Bruce Schneier, expert in technology security issues

On March 23, 2016, the University of New England presented a lecture by internationally renowned security technologist Bruce Schneier titled “Privacy and Security in a World-Sized Web.” The presentation, which was held at 5:30 p.m. in the Alfond Center for Health Sciences (Room 106) on UNE’s Biddeford Campus, was hosted by UNE’s Human Nature Project.

Schneier examined the manner in which technology permeates our economies, social interactions and intimate selves. From Facebook to fitness trackers, Uber rides to smart homes, and electronic voting to internet credit card payments, there are countless large-scale socio-technical systems that deliver instant accessibility and functionality.

Schneier argued that these systems demand continuous access to people and their information, leaving the population vulnerable to a host of new security threats from the users, outsiders, corporations and governments that control the systems. He discussed lessons learned from past attempts to secure these systems and explored technologies, laws, regulations, economic incentives and social norms that should be adopted in order to secure them in the future.

Dubbed a “security guru” by The Economist, Schneier is the author of 12 books, including the New York best seller Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World. He has penned hundreds of articles, essays and academic papers, and he is the author of the influential newsletter “Crypto-Gram” and the popular blog “Schneier on Security.”

Schneier wrote a column that was recently published by the Washington Post about the controversial federal mandate demanding that Apple assist the FBI in hacking the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter.