© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

There's really no delete button on the Internet, expert says

User: Abd allah Foteih
/
Flickr

By now, we've all pretty much heard about the hacking that left naked photos of dozens of celebrities spilling out over the Internet. Among them were Michigan-born supermodel Kate Upton and her Tiger pitcher boyfriend, Justin Verlander.

Not caring one whit about who's taking what kinds of pictures in the privacy of their homes, we wondered, how safe is the cloud when it comes to storing our files?

Kevin Fu is an associate professor in engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan and a nationally recognized computer security expert.

Fu says what most of us don't realize when we take photos on smartphones is that, there's really no delete button on the Internet.

"Although you might delete something on your phone, well, there are copies all over the place ... those boundaries don't really exist," Fu explained.

Fu says until we individuals get together and find some kind of consensus and prioritize security and privacy, it's unlikely the industry is going to put much effort into it.

"If nobody is willing to pay for security, then they probably not going to deploy it," Fu said.

* Listen to the interview with Kevin Fu above.

Stateside is produced daily by a dedicated group of producers and production assistants. Listen daily, on-air, at 3 and 8 p.m., or subscribe to the daily podcast wherever you like to listen.
Related Content