Call in!
2-4 pm Eastern
1-800-989-8255
1-800-989-TALK

Write us!
 
Science Friday
4 W. 43rd Street
Suite 306
New York, NY 10036

scifri@sciencefriday.com

AIDS Meeting / AOL Data Release and Online Privacy / Behavioral Profiling

User 401607 is interested in log splitters, tennis nets, and wheatgrass juice. User 8080373 is looking for either an airplane or a yacht for sale. And user 16468155 has a thing for the haircuts of female rock stars, but unfortunately needs to take back some tickets for Sunday's concert.

When AOL released the search records of 650,000 users covering a 3-month period, it highlighted just how much online behavior can reveal about a person. While much of the data exposed fairly mundane details about people's lives -- searches for a dentist near a new home, for example -- some of the data is quite dark and disturbing. And using the supposedly anonymous data, reporters for the New York Times were able to successfully trace one set of searches to the woman who performed them. AOL representatives have apologized for the data release, saying "This was a screw up, and we're angry and upset about it." Who knows where you surf? Join Ira in this hour for tips on protecting your privacy online.

Plus, the recent terror threats have sparked new interest in ways to improve airport security screening. One of the most successful methods, however, doesn't rely on chips, wires, or electronics. Behavioral profiling is a method in which trained security screeners assess the outward behavior and hidden 'tells' of a nervous person. It is used extensively by the Israeli air transportation industry. We'll talk about how it's used, and what its pluses and minuses are.

We'll also get an update on what's going on at this year's International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada, including new research into treatment and prevention efforts.

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern). Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests:
Richard Knox
Health and Science Correspondent
National Public Radio
Boston, Massachusetts

**************

Kevin Bankston
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
San Francisco, California

**************

Rafi Ron
President and CEO
New Age Security Solutions
Former Chief Security Officer
Israeli Airport Authority
Rockville, Maryland

Books/Articles Discussed:

(find books discussed on previous broadcasts)

Search by keywords:

This segment produced by Karin Vergoth