March 13, 2017 Spokesman
Posted by David Aubry on Mar 20, 2017
Rotary Meeting Minutes March 13, 2017
The meeting was called to order by President Scott Becker at 6:30PM. Everyone is glad to see he is on the mend from a recent bout with pneumonia.
President Scott recited some words of wisdom asserting that petting a dog will raise your mood in almost any situation.
Bob Cohon led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Visitors and Introductions:
Matt Scarano with Edward Jones was again with us and was introduced by Pres. Scott Becker.
Several people were here with our speaker, from Electronic Rights – Rainier, a group that educates about electronic privacy and security. These included Angie, Tyler Walker who is also a senior at WSU, and Selena, the group’s Director of Communication.
Announcements:
Amy Mutal reminded us about hockey night in Kent Saturday at 7:05PM, with dinner at the Ram Restaurant in Kent at 5PM. We have 22 people signed up.
Amy Mutal reminded us about hockey night in Kent Saturday at 7:05PM, with dinner at the Ram Restaurant in Kent at 5PM. We have 22 people signed up.
Steve Shinstrom will be out of town and needs someone to post meeting minutes for a couple of weeks. Ben Premack volunteered.
Elizabeth Rusnak reminded us that Miracle League starts Saturday April 22. She needs volunteers to pair with the kids.
The Past Presidents’ breakfast will be this Sunday April 19, at the Shinstroms. [It’s also the day the swallows return to Capistrano!]
Ben Premack introducted our speaker Raven Alder, the Chief Technology Officer of the aforementioned Electronic Rights – Rainier group. This is the recently founded local chapter of a group that promotes civil liberties on the electronic frontier. They also deal with security for individuals, mostly in areas that do not relate to federal law.
She gave examples, such as: in the ‘internet of things’, one may not be able/allowed to do repair work on a piece of equipment such as a farm tractor because so much of it is tied up in electronics. The manufacturers will not release any information about the electronics so a private person cannot diagnose or repair the equipment themselves. This group is concerned about our relationship with equipment in the light of such restrictions. They are also concerned with trying to maintain peoples’ and companies’ privacy and security. They do outreach and education, through workshops to spread the word about such subjects.
As another example, if you take a photo with a smart phone, in some cases you automatically give the right to use the photo to the phone manufacturer or to the carrier.
She also talked about the use of passwords and made the point that a ‘good’ password is more effective than frequently changing passwords.
People get interested in privacy and security issues when companies or organizations get hacked, compromising lots of peoples’ personal data.
People need to be educated so they can make informed decisions about electronic privacy and security issues. One also needs to know one’s rights in this area. Unfortunately, there have not been legal precedents set in a lot of these types of cases, yet.
The local chapter is working towards becoming a 501(c) 3 corporation. They are currently self-funded.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30PM
Respectfully Submitted
Acting Scribe - David Aubry