Digital Security Needs a Work-From-Home Makeover

Approximately 95% of the US population is living under a state or municipal-level stay-at-home order in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. To ease the massive disruptions caused by this sudden shift, businesses and educational institutions are scrambling to find ways to facilitate work or study from home opportunities. While we’re fortunate to live in an era when technical tools to facilitate communication are widely available, this sudden shift in the way America works and learns is not without consequences. The exponential increase in the use of online tools and connected devices—often by individuals or organizations without much tech expertise—amplifies and uncovers security risks posed by these technologies, hurting our ability to safely and effectively adapt to this global crisis.

Join experts from the Open Technology Institute and Consumer Reports for a virtual event to discuss the security risks and benefits of popular work from home technologies, including conferencing platforms, video calls, connected devices, and home assistants. What privacy and security challenges should you consider when using these technologies? How do you choose which tools to use or purchase? What are the risks and benefits of the technology we are all relying on in the time of COVID-19?

Panelists:

Justin Brookman
Director, Consumer Privacy and Technology Policy, Consumer Reports

Nat Meysenburg
Technologist, New America’s Open Technology Institute

Katie McInnis
Policy Counsel, Consumer Reports

Moderator:

Andi Wilson Thompson
Senior Policy Analyst, New America’s Open Technology Institute