OPINION
: Convenience Over Security Venmo is convenient and easy, but when considering its security and privacy, the app should be avoided. BY MALEAH DOWNTON EDITORIAL EDITOR
‘Ready, Set, Pay,’ mobile payment service Venmo advertises on its website. Venmo is an app operated by PayPal that is available for both IOS and Android mobile devices. The app provides a ‘simple and convenient’ way for users to make and receive payments. It is the epitome of today’s modern society. But with its easy accessibility, it has many deficits and issues within its security and privacy. Users should refrain from using the app entirely as their privacy and security shouldn’t be up for grabs. Venmo is convenient. That is what draws users to the app. Payments are made both swiftly and easily from one’s smartphone. However, the pressing question of whether that convenience outweighs
the need for privacy and security begs an answer. Venmo has been prone to issues, according to Consumer Affairs, from users being locked out of their account, to mystery payments made without the user’s knowledge. When receiving a transaction through Venmo, users assume that when a transaction says it is complete, that is the truth. Venmo even states that it is impossible to cancel a payment. However, that statement fails to account the possibility of payments being declined, voided or disputed by a user’s credit card. This possible error serves as a goldmine for scammers. Con artists utilize users’ confusion when it comes to purchasing items. With the assumption that the payment has been received, users relinquish the sold item only to discover the payment has later been redacted. Researcher Hang Do Thi Duc recently released a project in which she exposed Venmo’s shocking privacy settings. Venmo users’ transactions and messages are public to all as the default setting. Through accessing data through Venmo’s
public API, Hang discovered that there were approximately 208 million public transactions on Venmo in 2017 alone. To demonstrate this danger and breach of privacy, Hang gave a very detailed account into the transactions of five unsuspecting users. Each revealed detailed and sensitive information into the lives and purchases of these people. From the numerous transactions of a cannabis retailer operating out of Santa Barbara, to a married couple’s long journey with paying off their extensive debt, everything they had assumed that would be private was available for the world to see. These public transactions gave a window into the routines and habits of their everyday lives. The Federal Trade Commission released a complaint against Venmo in March 2016. The complaint cited that Venmo had misled users on multiple accounts in terms of privacy, security and reliability. The FTC concluded that Venmo was in violation of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguard Rule and Privacy Rule. Venmo failed to implement
safeguards within the app to protect customer information and they failed to deliver the required privacy notices to users. Their violations presented a false sense of security to users, when in reality their information and transactions are and have been at risk. The FTC noted that Venmo didn’t fully disclose with its users what was public with their accounts and the true extent of their security. Venmo and the FTC reached a settlement over the numerous allegations of violations in Feb. 2018. Venmo claims now to be improving its security, but issues within the app remain. The Mozilla Foundation, developers of the web browser Firefox, recently has pushed for Venmo to make its settings private by default, but Venmo has failed to respond. Venmo’s trustworthiness comes into question as the rise of digital purchases engulfs our society. Venmo is convenient and easy, but users should not completely trust the app’s security. The trend towards digital payment is tempting, but trusting in these third-party apps only makes users susceptible and vulnerable to financial adversities.
A Long Road To Recovery The effects of natural disasters do not disappear when the media leaves. BY CECILIA MOHÁCSI PRINT CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF
When disaster strikes, the media joins the wave of first responders to cover the immediate aftermath and survivor stories. Whether it’s an earthquake, hurricane or tornado, the news is flooded with depressing images of destruction and dramatic rescues. However, after the initial coverage is over and the cameras leave the scene, the affected areas are left in the dark and the public tends to forget. Natural disasters need continual coverage because the victims still need help months after the disaster, and they aren’t going to receive help if no one knows they still need it. Of course recovery time varies for different situations and the severity of the disaster, but nothing is repaired or healed overnight. Typically, reconstruction takes 10 times as long as the emergency period, according to a National Academy of Sciences study. With the exception of hurricane Katrina which had a much longer emergency period, that means that if the emergency period lasted four
weeks, recovery would take roughly 40 weeks. A fairly recent disaster in the last year was Hurricane Maria that had a huge impact on the island of Puerto Rico. The storm devastated the island leaving thousands of people without power for almost a year, and sent the entire territory into a humanitarian crisis, according to Mercy Corps. Electricity and cell towers were down and there was little to no access to clean water for people. Hurricane Maria caused over $90 billion in damage, and the recovery has barely started. Puerto Rico’s long road to recovery, and other affected places alike, aren’t being covered with updates like they should be. The storm may have passed, but the long term effects are what take the biggest toll. It will take years for some families to recover, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. There are so many ways for the public to have access to news from television, social media and alert apps. On average, media outlets report on natural disasters for a shorter period of time compared to other topics, according to a 2013 study published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. News topics generally have a span of 18 months, but disasters
FORGOTTEN PUERTO RICO Hurricane Maria still leaves lasting damages in Puerto Rico one year after the disaster. (Photo by MCT Campus)
are only covered for 12 months on average, and the majority of this coverage comes in the first 30 days with 62.8 percent of all reporting done in the immediate aftermath. Increasing coverage on these issues would potentially increase donations to aid the recovery process. With so many ways to reach audiences through television and social media, news outlets bring general awareness to large scale events such as natural disasters. By simply getting the word out that help is still needed, the public would be more aware of what needs to be done. OCTOBER 2018
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