Digital Security

Keeping an eye on your personal information

Today’s world is increasingly connected online, enabling instant access from nearly anywhere via wireless devices to social media sites, Internet banking, shopping, and information on almost anything.

One of the side-effects of this constant connection is that the line between public and private is becoming blurred, making personal information more vulnerable to surveillance and theft.

SSHRC contributes to global digital security by funding research that builds understanding on the social consequences of increased access to personal data and on how best to protect users’ privacy.

• Ian Kerr, Canada Research Chair in Ethics, Law and Technology at the University of Ottawa, is investigating the importance and impact of anonymity, identity and privacy in a networked society. Building on his recent Oxford University Press book, Lessons from the Identity Trail, his work focuses on the interplay between emerging public and private sector surveillance technologies, civil liberties and human rights.
• David Lyon, director of the Surveillance Studies Centre at Queen’s University, and his international team are detailing the social consequences of being monitored—from benefits such as personalized shopping, to perils like digital discrimination, identity theft and threats to personal security.