This August, the Government Accountability Office reported that five federal agencies violated the Privacy Act while gathering citizen information. The Department of Agriculture, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration and the State Department all increased the risk of exposing data or limited the ability of Americans to access their information.If we can’t rely on top government agencies to police their own actions, what can citizens do to guarantee their rights to privacy are being protected?Senator Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii, the ranking Democrat on the Senate government management subcommittee, decried the abuses and called for legislation that would require the feds follow the rules of the Privacy Act.Jim Dempsey, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, says federal agencies are far too indiscriminate when it comes to collecting data. Dempsey would like to see them take only what they need. With less to use, he says, there will be less to lose. Dempsey would also like the government to give citizens more access to see and correct information about themselves. John Bliss, a privacy strategist at IBM, thinks new technology is the answer. He would have the feds encrypt data to “anonymize” it, so that specific data could no longer be used to identify a specific person.What can be done to protect our personal information? Do we need legislation or will technology solve the problem? What do you think? Related content news Arm patches bugs in Mali GPUs that affect Android phones and Chromebooks The vulnerability with active exploitations allows local non-privileged users to access freed-up memory for staging new attacks. By Shweta Sharma Oct 03, 2023 3 mins Android Security Android Security Mobile Security news UK businesses face tightening cybersecurity budgets as incidents spike More than a quarter of UK organisations think their cybersecurity budget is inadequate to protect them from growing threats. By Michael Hill Oct 03, 2023 3 mins CSO and CISO Risk Management news Cybersecurity experts raise concerns over EU Cyber Resilience Act’s vulnerability disclosure requirements Open letter claims current provisions will create new threats that undermine the security of digital products and individuals. By Michael Hill Oct 03, 2023 4 mins Regulation Compliance Vulnerabilities feature The value of threat intelligence — and challenges CISOs face in using it effectively Knowing the who, what, when, and how of bad actors and their methods is a boon to security, but experts say many teams are not always using such intel to their best advantage. By Mary K. Pratt Oct 03, 2023 10 mins CSO and CISO Advanced Persistent Threats Threat and Vulnerability Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe