Tag: news

Apple, governments, privacy and public good

Apple recently announced they are no longer providing Advanced Data Protection (ADP) for UK based customers in response to a request by the UK government.    ADP basically amounts to end to end encryption meaning only the user themselves can decrypt and access their data.    The press is largely carrying headlines focused on the negative impact on user privacy of this decision, either deriding Apple for reversing their long established position in relation to the privacy of user data or deriding the UK government for pushing Apple into this position.    And as always reporting tends to be very binary but the reality is things are a little more nuanced than that so I thought I would share my thoughts.

Removing ADP

So, what does this removal amount to?    Basically, in my reading of it, it amounts to the removal of encryption of your data at rest.  What this means is that your data continues to be encrypted in transit, so as it traverses the air, via 4G/5G or Wi-Fi, as it traverses the internet to its final destination being Apples servers.    So, a criminal, or another unscrupulous threat actor, intercepting data in transit will only get your data in its encrypted form and therefore be unable access it in its raw form.      The change comes at the point the data is stored on Apples servers.     Here, without ADP, the data will be stored in its unencrypted form allowing for Apple to access the data, or for Apple to share the data with law enforcement or other government entities, or for criminals to access the data should they gain access to apples servers.

So what does this mean for privacy?

The fact that the data is now unencrypted at rest amounts to a reduction in privacy and an increase in risk for individuals.   This is due to several reasons.   Firstly, an unscrupulous Apple employee could access your data, or maybe an Apple employee might be able to blackmailed or social engineered to give away data.    As Apple have the relevant encryption keys to decrypt your data, it may be that a criminal gains access to these and therefore is also able to decrypt your data having intercepted it in its encrypted form in transit.   And there is also the issue of unscrupulous governments using the same methods as the UK government to force Apple to remove end of end encryption and then demanding access to data in order to target dissidents or those who are vocal about the government, all under the guise of national defence or anti-terrorism.   Basically, your data without ADP is not as secure and private as it would be with ADP.

Why would anyone want to reduce privacy?

This all leads to the question of why the UK government would push Apple towards this decision.    The answer is one of national security and public good largely.     Privacy is a great thing however its benefits are felt by all and that includes terrorists, criminals, users sharing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), etc.    With end-to-end encryption there would be no method for police or security services to investigate content as they simply wouldn’t be able to access it.  They would need to arrest the criminal end user and get them to unlock their device to be able to access content.    This would limit the potential for investigation to be carried out quietly in the background, which might also limit the potential for preventative measures as opposed to reactive measures.    And I note, when things do go wrong the press is quick to identify when people have been on watch lists, etc, but what use is a watch list if you have no way to actually see what users are actually doing?   Hindsight is 20/20 but with ADP enabled foresight would be encrypted.

Balance

The challenge here is we are trying to balance the risks to individual privacy, as experienced by all users in the UK in this instance, with the need to identify those who may seek to cause harm, distress or even death.    I don’t believe there is a perfect solution sadly.    It is about risk-based decision making.   

My belief is that the net impact of the removal of ADP is negative.   It impacts and increases risk for all users while those who the UK government may seek to monitor or discover will simply shift to using non-Apple services and devices, thereby meaning the gain from the removal of end-to-end encryption will be minor if any gain exists at all.    And additionally, the fact Apple have ceded to the request of the UK government will likely mean other governments will request the same, although for some the motivation may be more related to their own aims rather than anything related to public good or safety.

Conclusion

There is, in my view, an increasing level of friction between public good and personal privacy, with this particular issue related to Apples ADP service being the most recent and public example.    We sadly cannot have privacy, but only for some or at certain times.   Its privacy for all or for no-one, and where we opt for privacy for all we need to accept this will include those who seek to use privacy to cover illegal, immoral or unethical activities.     This news story also highlights the challenges related to national legislation of international companies.    In both cases, I think these are issues we should be discussing with our students as part of digital citizenship programmes, as these issues are only likely to grow in frequency.

Sadly the press pick a good news headline which is good for getting readership rather than conveying the more nuanced nature of the situation.   Maybe this also highlights the need for critical thinking skills to, so we can see through the black and white headlines, into the various shades of grey which are more representative of the real world.

Reflections on #29daysofwriting

29 posts in 29 days!!    Much to my surprise I have actually managed to complete the challenge of a posting per day throughout February.   At the end of 2015 I set out my intention to write at least 2 posts per month or 24 posts in total across the year, however as a result of #29daysofwriting, I have managed 29 posts in February alone.

What went well…..

Throughout the month there were various points at which I struggled, in particular in identifying what to actually write about.   Every time this has happened I have been met with suggestions and ideas from colleagues from across the educational social media sphere.   Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions!

The whole process of sitting down to write each night has forced me to make some time available to do the writing.   It has also forced me to reflect on my practice, on my ideas and also on the ideas and postings of others.

In writing every day I also made time to read other peoples contributions each day and where possible to comment.    This helped in providing me with new ideas and providing access to new perspectives.

Even Better If…

I think in hindsight it would have been beneficial if I had done some planning at the beginning of the month, outlining some of the topics I intended to write on.    Having not done this planning I found myself struggling for ideas.   I feel it is often the case that when you try to force ideas, you don’t find any, however when you are more relaxed that ideas come more freely.   A little bit of planning would have allowed me to feel a little less pressured and hopefully therefore have realized more ideas.   That said, colleagues quickly filled the voids with ideas where they occurred.

Going forward

It has been an excellent process for me in terms of the writing and thinking I have done over the last month.   In addition the sharing and discussion involved have further added to the experience.    As we move into March I need to continuing posting, albeit at a lesser frequency.    My original new years resolutions included to post twice per month however having posted ever day I think I may look to increase this and go for posting once per week from now on.   Hopefully this is something I can sustain.

I also want to make more time to comment on others postings in particular those postings on StaffRm, which I have found to be a brilliant place to share and collaborate.

And most important…….A new #29daysofwriting mug for drinking my coffee (or in my case Irn-Bru!  Excuse the stereotype!!!!)

New Years Resolutions – 2 months on.

The end of the 2nd month of 2016 is fast approaching (plus I was struggling to think of something to write ) so I thought it was a good opportunity to once again touch base with progress towards meeting my new years resolutions.

1) To blog at least twice per month

I am doing very well with this one.   Twice per month equates to 24 posts across the whole year however as part of #29daysofwriting, this represents my 25th post in Feb alone, thereby achieving my target after only 2 months.   I will however continue to try and achieve a minimum of 2 posts per month.

2) 1.9 tweets per day over the year

Point 5, and buffer in particular is helping here.   At this point I have tweeted 427 times in 2016 so far.   This equates to nearer to 7.6 tweets per day, or enough tweets for over 200 days, however after only 56 days.  Again, like point 1, I need keep up the momentum.

3) To achieve Google certified educator level 2 status

Haven’t done anything on this target lately mainly due to focusing on #29daysofwriting and #teacher5adaysketch.  I would like to think I will address this is March or April rather than leaving it too late in the year.

4) Read at least 1 book per month

Again, like point 3, have put this on hold in Feb.   Will start reading once more as soon as March begins.

5) To use tools like evernote and buffer to work smarter

Buffer has been key lately in maintaining a twitter presence while blogging, sketching and working.    Have sort of let Evernote use slip a little so need to get back into the habit of using it to keep my notes.

6) To get involved in twitter chats

Have been active in #sltchat and #mltchat is particular.   I do need to try and build on this.

7) To get involved in events and conferences

Attended BETT however can see plenty of chances in March for attending different events.

8) To experiment with video and youtube

Again, a point I haven’t progressed this month.

I also added a new target at the end of January:

9) To get fitter by increasing levels of exercise

Jan saw me managing 33 mins of exercise (and I only meaning wlaking) per day but sadly Feb has seen this drop to 30min.    I suppose I still have a few days to push this up a little if I try!

I would also now in Feb like to add a new item:

10) To sketch at least twice per month.

As part of #teacher5aday sketch I did 5 drawings in Feb.   I want to ensure that I continue doing the odd sketch.    Hopefully I can maintain the effort in March.

I would say Feb has seen some massive effort in some areas at the expense of others.  So March needs to see me even this out.

Favourite Books (Part 2)

I previously posted on my 5 favourite books (you can read this here) however someone pointed out the inclusion of a Goleman book in the photo of my bookcase and the fact that I hadn’t listed it as one of my top 5.    As such I realized that top 5 was too limiting and hence this pointing is my next 5 books, building my top 10.    Also being honest, the is an easy post to fill my current writers block for #29daysofwriting

Before I go any further just a recap of my top 5:

  • The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Ken Blanchard
  • The Silo Effect by Gillian Tett
  • Lateral Thinking by De Bono
  • The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
  • The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

So for my 6th book I would suggest a recent read in Resillience by Andrew Zolli and Ann Marie Healy.   The books centres on resilience and how we can develop it in an ever changing world.   I particularly enjoying the opening phrase “robust but fragile” as used in the book which seems to align with the similary contradictory terms such as “tough but tender” as used in a college I worked in.

Another recent read is Thinking Fast and Slow from Daniel Kahneman.   I originally heard this as an audio book listening to it while travelling between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.   I enjoyed it that much I went out and purchased it.    The books use of Agent 1 and Agent 2 as the two ways that we think, fast and slow, is very useful in explaining how we can reach effective decisions quickly however the existence of weaknesses in this approach in certain situations.

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman is an excellent book focusing on the interpersonal aspect of all we do.    Whether we are building cars, teaching, a manager, or a million other job roles, we will almost always need to work with others.   As such Emotional Intelligence is critically important.   I suspect this is a book I will be re-reading shortly.

Edward De Bono’s, I am right, you are wrong is a brilliant book discussing De Bonos perception with regards how the mind works.    The books includes some excellent examples of how order of new ideas impacts learning plus some good discussion on “learning backwards”.

My final book for inclusion is Ken Robinsons, The Element.    Robinson draws on many examples of successful people who evidence where personal areas of strength meet their passions.  A particular favourite point is his suggestion that we ask “How are you intelligent” rather than the usual “How intelligent are you?”.  A subtle but critical difference.

Am looking forward to returning to more reading once I get to the conclusion of #29daysofwriting.

 

 

My Favourite Books.

Yesterday I wrote about my favourite apps so following some valuable suggestions from B Yusuf today I am going to maintain the same approach but with a different theme, this time looking at my favourite books.

Let’s start with one of my favourite leadership books which I have often recommended to others especially new middle leaders.    The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Ken Blanchard.   This is a nice short and very accessible book which focuses on how to manage people and the tasks they are assigned.    I think it is very useful for new middle leaders where the tendency might be to lead by example and in doing so offer to help and do things to help your team thereby accepting the duty of care for their monkeys.

Next is a book I have recently read, The Silo Effect by Gillian Tett.   This is an excellent book about how Silos form in organizations, how they can be dangerous and how to overcome them.   I think this is quite appropriate to education where we have such clear demarcations evident through our schools.   Staff are either support, teaching, MLT or SLT.    Teaching staff operate in departments.   The Silo Effect points out why we need to have this kind of structure and demarcation, the disadvantages and how we might seek to overcome these disadvantages.

I have always been very interested in the idea of divergent thinking.   As such my next book is Lateral Thinking by De Bono.   I particularly like the book as not only does it seek to provide explanations for why we might be less creative than we could be, but it also provide little activities which can be used with students to illustrate the point.   I have previously run a series of lessons on creativity in a school in the Middle East using so of the activities and the students loved it.

My next book is The Shallows from Nicholas Carr.    Giving my focus on educational technology my book list had to include at least one book which looks at technology.    This book brilliantly tracks how various now accepted technologies were at one time or other considered as disruptive including the watch and the printing press and resultant novels printed using them.    This puts the current concerns regarding student technology use and the impact into a different light.

My final book is my favourite leadership book which I keep coming back to.   It’s a bit of a classis.   Stephen Coveys The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.    Quite simply a classis book in identifying priorities and managing life in what is becoming an increasing complex world.

Once I get past Feb and #29daysofwriting I hope to get back to reading more.   I may in future share further opinions with regards the books I have read.   Please feel free to suggest any books you think are worth a read.

 

 

New years resolutions a week on!

2016 represents a new year and as such I have created and shared my new years resolutions (you can view these here).    I have started this year with a focus on “doing the right thing” and therefore have dropped my previous approach of keeping a to-do list.  I found that no matter how hard I worked and how many items I crossed off the list, my to-do list always had more items on it.   In addition I also caught myself adding items to my to-do list which I had already completed just so that I can score them off; the act of adding these already completed items being a total waste of time other than providing a false sense of satisfaction.  Instead this has been replaced by a weekly list of what I hope to achieve in a week.  This list is not a specific list of tasks but more a limited list of areas which I wish to address.   I have tried my best to limit this list to a maximum of 5 work areas per week.

I also have an Urgent vs Important board in my office however I have done little with this so far given prior to Christmas I managed to pretty much fill the board to the point that the urgent and important axis were no longer visible.    At this point it ceased to be of much use for me so at the moment sits as it was prior to the holidays.  This will need to be revisited in the coming weeks.

Within my weekly focus list I have also added my PLN commitments with regards blogging, reading and contributing to twitter.   So far I would say I have done reasonably well on this with my current book, “The Silo Effect” currently lying half completed after only a week which by my standards is quite impressive.   In addition I have been reasonably involved on Twitter making use of Buffer where possible for more general contributions in addition to engaging in chats such as #sltchat or events like #appsharelive.   I hope that I am able to continue with this pattern.

The one area which I would see as in need of action is the physical side of things in that I haven’t engaged or planned to engage in any physical activity which I am conscious has always been an personal area for development.    My hope would be that I can plan to address this starting in the coming weeks, however I should note that after 7 years in the Middle East, outdoor activities in a UK winter are proving to be less than enticing.

If you contributed and shared your resolutions how has your first week gone?