Harris County Law Library is celebrating Choose Privacy Week, an annual event established by the American Library Association (ALA) to engage library users on privacy issues in the digital age. The ALA encourages all technology users to observe the following:
- Be aware of the risks associated with using technology.
- Take action in defending online privacy.
- Adopt practices that counter surveillance and minimize unwanted data collection.
Check out the ALA Choose Privacy Week website for tools to protect user privacy. Included are browser extensions for encryption and ad blocking, a selection of privacy-enhancing tools for mobile and desktop applications, and surveillance-free search engines, such as Start Page and Duck Duck Go.
For items at the Harris County Law Library related to privacy and data security, especially for practicing attorneys, we suggest the following.
- Locked Down: Practical Information Security for Lawyers and Encryption Made Simple for Lawyers address the need for attorneys to protect their clients' data from security breaches, especially in the age of cloud storage, ransomware, and widespread information-sharing across potentially unsecured networks.
- Wiretapping & Eavesdropping: Surveillance in the Internet Age, a 4-volume loose leaf service, includes chapters on computer evidence, Internet technology, and the Fourth Amendment. Relevant federal and state laws regarding digital communications and surveillance in the information age are also discussed.