Digital Literacy for Healthcare

Foundations

Kenneth Ban
Department of Biomedical Informatics &
Department of Biochemistry

Judice Koh
Department of Biomedical Informatics

[email protected]
[email protected]
 Roadmap
How can we use AI/
AI/Machine Learning Generative AI ML for healthcare?

How do we use
Computational Thinking computational thinking
to solve problems?

Electronic Health Telemedicine and How we use digital

Records Patient Apps tools for patient care?

How do we use digital

Digital Tools for Searching tools to nd data?

What are principles of

Foundations using digital data in a
connected world?
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 Learning objectives
• Explain how data can be represented digitally and its
advantages (e.g. reproducibility, error-checking, compression)
• Explain how computers can be connected in the network
using standard protocols for reliable data transmission
• Explain how data can be secured using different forms of
encryption and evaluate good practices for ensuring secure
transmission and storage of sensitive data
• Explain the concepts of digital identity and authentication
and evaluate good practices for protecting digital identity
• Explain the concept of digital footprints when using
computers in a networked environment and evaluate implications
of digital footprints on privacy and professionalism
 Overview
Digital Data Fundamentals
Connecting Computers
Securing Data
Digital Identity
Digital Footprints
 1.
Digital Data
Fundamentals
What are the types of data?
Data

Analog Digital
Analog signals Digital signals
(e.g. audiotape) (e.g. CD)

Continuous values Discrete values

 Why digital data?
• Can be transmitted and copied reproducibly
101010111111 101010111111

• Can be checked for errors/integrity

101010111110 101010110111

• Can be compressed
10 repeated 3x
101010111111
1 repeated 6x
 How to represent numbers?
• Computing relies on the representation, storage and
manipulation of data in the form of numbers
• Different number systems are used to represent
numbers in digital computing

Base Digits

10 (Decimal) 0 to 9

2 (Binary) 0 and 1

16 (Hexadecimal) 0 to 9, A to F
 How to represent numbers?
Base 10 (Decimal)
• Most commonly used
• Digits: 0 to 9
2 3 7 8
1 6
4 5
0 9

2 1 0
34510 = 3 × 10 + 4 × 10 + 5 × 10
 How to represent numbers?
Base 2 (Binary)
• Used in digital circuits for computing
• Digits: 0 and 1 0 1

3 2 1 0
10112 = 1 × 2 + 0 × 2 + 1 × 2 + 1 × 2
= 1110
 How to represent numbers?
Base 16 (Hexadecimal)
• Used to represent 4 binary digits compactly as a
single hexadecimal digit (24 = 16)
• Digits: 0 to 9, A to F (representing 10 to 15)
2 3 7 8 B C D F
1 6
4 5 E
0 9 A

1 0
1F16 = 1 × 16 + F(15) × 16
= 3110
 Demo
https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/hex-dec-bin-converter.html
 How to represent digital data?

• Data is presented as binary digits (bits) in computing

• Aligned to the the design of electronic circuits with 2 voltage
states: high (1) and low (0)

• In the base 2 number system, the number of bits (N)

determines the number of values that can be represented (2N)
• A byte is a standard unit of 8 bits that can represent 28 =
256 values
 How to describe digital data?

• Units of data size (bytes)

‣ We can use pre xes based on decimal system to
describe large binary data sizes
‣ For the same pre x, the binary size is larger than
the decimal equivalent
Pre x Decimal Binary
Kilo (K) 103 = 1,000 210 = 1,024
Mega (M) 106 = 1,000,000 220 = 1,048,576
Giga (G) 109 = 1,000,000,000 230 = 1,073,741,824
Tera (T) 1012 = 1,000,000,000,000 240 = 1,099,511,627,776
Peta (P) 1015 = 1,000,000,000,000,000 250 = 1,125,899,906,842,624
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 How do we represent data?
Discrete values Continuous values

Snapshot Time-series
Numeric Text Image Audio Video

What resolution What frequency

Sample Sample
to measure? to measure?

What discrete values

Quantize
to assign?

Digital representation
How do we represent data? (1) discrete

Numbers (Integers) Number

• Unsigned 23 22 21 20

‣ Non-negative whole numbers 5 = 0 1 0 1

‣ Range depends on number of bits Range: 0 to 15

• Signed Sign Number

‣ Negative and positive whole 22 21 20

numbers
5 = 0 1 0 1
‣ Left-most bit represents sign (0 =
positive, 1 = negative) -5 = 1 1 0 1

‣ Range depends on number of bits Range: -8 to 7

How do we represent data? (1) discrete

Numbers (Floating point)

• Number with fractional parts (e.g. 3.14)
• Similar to scienti c notation (+1.23 x 10 4) but in binary form

• Precision and range ± Mantissa (decimal) x 10exponent

depends on number of
bits allocated to
mantissa and exponent ± Mantissa (binary) x 2Exponent

• More bits allow more

precise and larger Sign Exponent Mantissa
range of numbers to be 1 11 52
represented
64 bits (range ±2.23×10−308 to ±1.80×10308)
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How do we represent data? (1) discrete

Text (Unicode)

Hi!😄 • Universal standard for

>1 million characters
(including emojis)

H i ! 😄 • Each character is assigned

to a unique unicode
Unicode U+0048 U+0065 U+0021 U+1F601
• The unicode is encoded as
bytes
UTF-8 48 65 21 F09F8198
• Most common encoding
format is UTF-8 that uses
https://www.branah.com/unicode-converter 1-4 bytes per unicode
 How do we represent data?
Discrete values Continuous values

Snapshot Time-series
Numeric Text Image Audio Video

What resolution What frequency

Sample Sample
to measure? to measure?

What discrete values

Quantize
to assign?

Digital representation
How do we represent data? (2) continuous

Sampling (spatial)
• We can sample a continuous signal across space in
discrete units (e.g. pixels in an image)
• The density determines how much detail/resolution
is captured (e.g. 24.5 megapixel camera sensor)
Sampling density
Original Sampling
(spatial)
How do we represent data? (2) continuous

Sampling (time)
• We can sample a continuous signal (e.g. sound) across time
in discrete units depending on the frequency (Hz)
• The frequency determines how much detail/
resolution is captured (e.g. 44.1 kHz for audio les)

Analog Digital

Sampling
(time)
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How do we represent data? (2) continuous

Quantization
Quantized representation
• A continuous value (e.g. of continuous values

brightness of light) that needs to

be converted to a discrete
value

Output Signal
• The conversion approximates
(quantizes) the signal to the
nearest binary value Input Voltage
• The number of bits determines
the precision and range of the
Sensor
conversion
How can we check for errors/integrity?

Checksum
• Used for checking errors in data (e.g. during copying/transmission)
• Simple mathematical function to generate a value (checksum)
e.g. addition/division
• Checksum included together with data so that it can be veri ed at
destination
Compute checksum Compute checksum and verify

Data Checksum Checksum

S1234567 D D
Same?
Transmission
Data Checksum Data Checksum
S1234567 D S1234567 D

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How can we check for errors/integrity?

Hashing
• Used for checking integrity of data (e.g. changes due to tampering)
• Uses one-way hash function to generate a ngerprint
‣ Fingerprint is unique and any change in data will alter it
‣ Original data cannot be reconstructed from ngerprint
• Original ngerprint is communicated separately and compared with
the computed ngerprint at destination for veri cation
Transmission
Data Data

Compute Compute
hash hash
Compare to verify integrity
Fingerprint Fingerprint
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 Demo
https://emn178.github.io/online-tools/
How can we compress digital data?
• Information content in data can be measured using
Shannon entropy, which measures the amount
of uncertainty in data
‣ High entropy → less predictable data
‣ Low entropy → more predictable data
• Low entropy data has more redundancy,
making it easier to compress or represent
compactly

Example Entropy Compressibility

Claude Shannon
ADBFEGC High Low
(1916 - 2001)
AAAAAAA Low High
 Demo
https://ctrlcalculator.com/statistics/shannon-entropy-calculator/
How can we compress digital data?
Compression
• Compression involves identifying redundancy in data and removing
them
• There are 2 types of compression
Lossless Lossy

Compresses without Compresses by discarding

Compression
losing information some information

Cannot recover original data

Decompression Recovers original data
May introduce artifacts

Ratio Lower Higher

How can we compress digital data?
Example: Lossless compression
• Run-length encoding (RLE) is a simple type of lossless
compression that replaces repeated sequences by representing
repeats by appending the number of repeats to the symbol
• This compressed form can be decompressed to recover the original
data

Compress
AAAAAABBBBCCCCC A6B4C5

Decompress
A6B4C5 AAAAAABBBBCCCCC
How can we compress digital data?
Example: Lossy compression
• Typically used to compress image or audio data by removing
details that less noticeable by human perception
• JPEG compression for images
‣ Reduces the colors and blurs/smooths out details
‣ Original image data is not recoverable
‣ Decompression may introduce artifacts

Compress Decompress Change

JPEG in color
?bloody
 2.
Connecting Computers
 What is a computer?
• Computing is the processing of data to generate output
according to the de ned instructions (algorithm)

CPU

Input Output
Memory

• A computer contains a central processing unit (CPU) that

performs the computations and memory that stores
instructions and data
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 How can we use computers?
• We can use computers in either as a local standalone unit or
connected to other computers in a network (operating in a
client-server or peer-to-peer model)
Model Description
Standalone
Computers operate
Standalone independently without connecting
to other computers
Client Server Client
Clients (computers) send/receive
Client- data to/from a central server,
Networked

Server which manages and provides

resources
Peer Peer
Peer-to- Computers connect directly,
Peer sharing resources and data
(P2P) without a central server
How do we connect computers?
• Computers can be connected through networks that transmit data
from one computer to another
• The connections can be wired (e.g. cables) or wireless (e.g. WiFi)
• There are broadly 2 types of networks:
• Local area networks (LAN): smaller networks e.g. of ces
• Wide area networks (WAN): larger networks connecting LANs e.g.
Intranet (hospital) or Internet (global)
WAN
LAN

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How do we communicate through a network?

• Digital communication through a network requires

‣ Information about the source/destination (e.g.
addresses)
‣ Protocols for transmitting data (e.g. nding the best route
to reach destination, checking and handling errors)

Source Pack Delivery Unpack Destination

Where is What is best route? Where is data

data from? How to handle errors? going to?
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 How do we communicate through a network?

• Digital communication through a network typically uses the Open

Systems Interconnection (OSI) model that conceptually divides
communication into layers with different functions
Layer Function Example
Handles interaction with Email (SMTP, IMAP), accessing web
Application networked applications like portals (HTTP, HTTPS)
email and websites
Ensures reliable delivery of data Ensuring data are sent completely and
Transport between devices; detects and without errors (TCP).
xes errors.
Handles IP addresses and Assigning addresses to devices (IP);
Network
routing data between networks. routing data through networks.

• For example, the network and transport layers are implemented

as TCP/IP protocol that speci es how data is sent from source to
destination and how errors are handled
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How do we communicate through a network?

TCP/IP protocol
• TCP splits data into smaller, numbered packets
• Packets are labeled with source and destination addresses (IP)
• Packets are routed to the destination with the IP protocol
• TCP checks if packets are missing or contain errors, and requests
source to resend packets
• TCP reassembles packets in the correct order at destination
Packets Routing Unpack
Source Destination
1 1

Split Assemble
2 2

Resend Error/missing?
How do we communicate through a network?

Identifying source and destination hosts with IP addresses

• Internet Protocol (IP) addresses use a xed number of bytes to
identify the host devices on the network
• There are 2 types
‣ IPv4 (4 bytes = 32 bits): most commonly used, covers 232 = 4.3 x
109 addresses
4 byte address = 32 bits

Size 8 bits 8 bits 8 bits 8 bits E.g.

Range 0-255 0-255 0-255 0-255 192.168.1.10

‣ IPv6 (16 bytes = 128 bits): more recent but not widely used yet,
covers 2128 = 3.4 x 1038 addresses
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How do we communicate through a network?

Allocation of addresses
• Addresses are allocated for ef ciency and separation of functions
• For IPv4, the addresses are more limited and they are allocated
into private (LAN), public (WAN) and reserved categories

Large internal
10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255 ~ 16 million
networks
Private Medium internal
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255 ~ 1 million
(LAN) networks

192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255 ~ 65 Small internal

thousand networks
Public Globally unique
Non-private/reserved IP range ~3.7 billion
(WAN) address on Internet
Reserved Specialized uses ~ 0.5 billion E.g. conferencing
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How do we communicate through a network?

Splitting addresses into subnets

• Addresses are typically split into smaller sub-networks (subnets)
to isolate the data traf c
• We can specify which parts of the IP address to use for network
identi ers (area code) and which parts to use for the host
identi ers (individual buildings within the area code)

Base Bits for

8 bits 8 bits 8 bits 8 bits
IP address network

10.0.0.0/8 10 0-255 0-255 0-255

10.0.0.0/16 10 0-255 0-255 0-255

Network (Area)
10.0.0.0/24 10 0-255 0-255 0-255 Host (Building)
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How do we communicate through a network?

Communication within and between subnets

• Devices within a subnet communicate through switches
• Communication between subnets goes through routers
• A specialized gateway router (includes a rewall to lter traf c)
connects the private network with the public internet

10.1.1.0/24 10.1.2.0/24 Switch

Router

Gateway
Public network
(Internet)

Private e.g 8.8.8.8

network
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How do we communicate through a network?

Accessing a private network

• To access a private network (e.g. school, hospital), we can connect to a
virtual private network (VPN) gateway via a secure connection
• Once authenticated, the user is assigned an IP address by the
gateway that allows access to the private network
External
10.1.1.0/24 10.1.2.0/24 user

VPN
gateway Internet
service
provider
Private (ISP)
network
How do we communicate through a network?

Mapping IP addresses to human-readable names

• IP addresses are dif cult to remember, so we use human-readable
names (e.g. www.nus.edu.sg) to identify computer servers
• A service called Domain Name System (DNS) translates domain
names into IP addresses
• The translation is done by domain name servers

Type Purpose Use Case Example Server

Public Resolves public domain Browsing websites on the

Google DNS: 8.8.8.8
DNS names globally. internet.

Resolves domain
Private Accessing internal services like Internal DNS (e.g.
names within a private
DNS hospital portals. 192.168.1.1)
network.
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How do we communicate through a network?

Communicating with applications/services

• When data reaches a destination host (building) with IP
addressing, it needs to be delivered to speci c ports (apartments)
• Ports (0 to 65535) are endpoints for applications/services
(e.g. web/email)

Building Apartment Port Service

Web
80
(HTTP)
Web
443
(HTTPS)

https IP Port Email

25
google.com 74.125.26.113 443 (SMTP)
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 Demo
https://geotraceroute.com/
 3.
Securing Data
 Why secure data?
• Data needs to be secured to protect sensitive
information (personal details, nancial data, healthcare
records)
• Exposure can lead to harm (privacy invasion, identity theft,
nancial and reputational loss)
• Based on underlying principles:
• Autonomy: respecting right of individuals to make decisions
about their personal information
Ethical • Non-male cence: preventing harm from exposure of sensitive
information that can be damaging
• Respect for persons: upholding dignity of individuals and their
right to privacy

Regulation • Compliance to laws e.g. PDPA (Singapore), HIPAA (US), GDPR

(Europe)
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 How do we secure data?
• Digital data can be secured by cryptography, which
encrypts data into an unreadable form that can only be
decrypted by authorized parties using keys

Encryption Decryption

• There are 2 types of cryptography

• Symmetric: uses a single key
• Asymmetric: uses a pair of keys
How do we secure data? (1) symmetric

• Single key for encryption/decryption

• Typically fast and ef cient

Encryption

Shared
key

Decryption
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 Demo
https://www.kerryveenstra.com/cryptosystem.html
 How do we secure data? (1) symmetric

• Example standards for symmetric cryptography

Name Description Key Length Strength

Data Encryption
Legacy standard 1970s 56 bits Weak, can be cracked
Standard (DES)

AES (Advanced Successor to DES. Widely used

128, 192, 256
Encryption and approved by National Very strong
bits
Standard) Security Agency (NSA)

Fast open source cipher with Strong, but vulnerable

Blow sh 32 to 448 bits
exible key length to attacks

Two sh A successor to Blow sh Up to 256 bits Very strong

fl
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How do we secure data? (1) symmetric

• Symmetric cryptography uses a single key which must be

shared between parties if they want to encrypt/decrypt data

Alice Bob

Can be intercepted

• The shared key is unencrypted and can be intercepted

• How can we share data securely without exposing the shared
key?
How do we secure data? (2) asymmetric

• Asymmetric cryptography uses a pair of keys (one key

encrypts, the other decrypts) that are mathematically
linked
• Based on mathematical functions that are easy to compute in
one direction, but hard to reverse (e.g. prime factorization)
Easy
Hard
123457 × 67867967 = 8378775601919

Incorporated into a private Incorporated into a public

key that is kept secret key that is shared
How do we secure data? (2) asymmetric

Example: Alice wants to send data to Bob

Alice Bob
Bob shares public key
Public
??
Private

Alice sends encrypted data

Encrypt Decrypt

Data is encrypted with recipient's public key

How do we secure data? (2) asymmetric

Example: Alice wants to verify the data came from Bob

Alice Bob
Bob shares public key
Public

Private

Bob sends encrypted signature

Decrypt Encrypt

Data is encrypted with sender's private key

How do we secure data? (2) asymmetric

• Summary of asymmetric encryption

Encrypting with Encrypting with
Recipient's Public Key Sender's Private Key

Primary Data con dentiality Authenticity

Use (data sharing) (digital signature)

Who Can Only the recipient with Anyone with the sender’s
Decrypt? their private key public key

Only the recipient can The message is from the

Security
read the message sender (public key)
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 Demo
https://www.kerryveenstra.com/cryptosystem.html
How do we secure transmission of data?

• The secure transmission of data over the network relies on public

key infrastructure (PKI) for client-server communication

‣ Establish that the client is connecting to a

trusted and veri ed source (server)
‣ Establish a fast secure connection
between the client and server by sharing
a symmetric key securely

• Based on the 2 concepts of asymmetric cryptography

‣ Anyone with a public key can verify that a message has been
created by a sender with their private key
‣ Any message encrypted by public key can be only be
decrypted by private key of recipient
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How do we secure transmission of data?

• Establishing trust of server by authority

Server Certi cate
Request
Untrusted Authority (CA)

Public CA
Public
Private CA
Trusted
Encrypt with
private CA key
Signed certi cate
with public key
Signed
public
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How do we secure transmission of data?

Summary of certi cation Untrusted

• Server has public key that needs to be

veri ed Public

• Request certi cate from certi cate

authority (CA)
• CA veri es source and signs Sign with
private CA key
certi cate with private CA key
‣Public server key Trusted
‣ Period of validity
• Server stores veri ed certi cate that is
provided to any client requesting it Signed
public
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How do we secure transmission of data?

• Establishing secure connection

Client Server
Connect
Public CA
Public
(signed)
Signed certi cate
If veri ed, generate
with public key
symmetric key
Private

Encrypt with
public server key

Encrypted symmetric key Decrypt with

server private key

Secure encrypted connection

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How do we secure transmission of data?
Summary of secure connection
Signed
• Client requests connection to server public key
from server
• Server sends CA-signed certi cate
containing public server key to client
Public CA
• Client veri es source using public CA key
• If veri ed, client generates symmetric key Encrypt
and encrypts it using the public server on client
key
• Encrypted symmetric key is decrypted by the Decrypt
on server
server using its private server key
• Decrypted symmetric key is used to Shared
encrypt all traf c between client and symmetric key
server
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 Example: internet browser
Internet browsers use the HTTP (insecure) or HTTPS (secure)
protocols when connecting to a server

• HTTP (insecure) connection

Icon indicating insecure connection

http://example.com

All traf c is unencrypted and can be intercepted

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 Example: internet browser
Internet browsers use the HTTP (insecure) or HTTPS (secure)
protocols when connecting to a server

• HTTPS (secure) connection

Icon indicating secure connection

https://example.com

All traf c is encrypted

Certi cate authority
Expiry date
Encryption (e.g. AES)
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 Example: email
• When the email is on the client/server, the data is often
unencrypted and can be read if there is unauthorized access
• Email can be encrypted using additional measures
Outlook Of ce 365 (Web)

Option to
encrypt
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How do we secure storage of data?
Data storage encryption Device-level
(symmetric) • All data written to
device is encrypted
• Protects data in
device if lost/stolen
Device-level File-level
Bitlocker File-level
(Windows) • Only selected les are
encrypted
FileVault
... • Protects data in
(MacOS) encrypted les for
selected access
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Securing data: recommendations
Storage
• Activate device-level encryption to protect storage devices
containing sensitive data against loss/theft
• Encrypt sensitive les that are shared (e.g. email) and share the
password/key over a different channel to reduce chance of
interception
Communication
• When using the browser, always use HTTPS (https://) protocol
• When using email, consider encryption
• Do not send any sensitive information over unsecured connection
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Securing data: recommendations
Passwords
• Follow
organizational
guidelines
• Consider
passphrases
that have higher
entropy and
easier to
remember
Are our passwords safe?
https://haveibeenpwned.com/
 4.
Digital identity
 What is identity?
• Identity is how we represent ourselves to others and how others
recognize us
• An identi er is a unique piece of information (e.g. NRIC) that
distinguishes us from others
• We have different identi ers in different spheres of life

Category Examples Purpose

Email addresses, social Represents you in public spaces (e.g.,
Public
media pro les. forums, social media).
Work email, employee ID, For accessing organizational systems
Organization
access badges. securely (e.g., internal portals).
Digital passports, national ID Ensures authenticity for o cial services
Government
numbers. (e.g., e-Government portals, tax systems).

• Without unique identi ers, there could be confusion or impersonation

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 How about digital identity?
• Digital identity is a unique representation of us in the
digital world, required to access digital services (e.g. email,
information systems in hospitals, government services)
• A digital identity needs to be validated or authenticated
before access is granted to the service
• Once authenticated, the service needs to check what actions
the identity is authorized to do (e.g. read/write/edit)

Identity Authentication Authorization

Who are you? Are you who you What are you
say you are? allowed to do?
 How can we authenticate digital identities?

Type Examples Strengths Weaknesses Use Cases

Knowledge-based • Easy to forget

Passwords, • Simple to • Susceptible to
Email logins,
implement phishing,
PINs ATM access
• Widely used brute-force
attacks
Possession-based • Di cult to steal
OTPs, smart
remotely • Can be lost or Banking
cards, stolen apps, secure
security • Provides an
• Requires facility
extra layer of
tokens device access
security
Biometric
Fingerprints, • Unique to each • Privacy
individual concerns Smartphone
facial
recognition • Hard to • False unlock
replicate positives
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 How are digital identities managed?

• Digital identities for different spheres (public, organization,

government) are managed differently with their uses and
challenges
Type Management Uses Challenges
Managed by
private Convenient login for • Data breaches
Public
companies (e.g., websites • Misuse personal data
Google) • Loss of identity if shut down

Centralized
Access to internal • Data breaches
Organization
systems like
resources/services • Mismanaged credentials
Single Sign-On (e.g. sharing, failure to
(e.g. hospitals)
(SSO) revoke)
National
O cial government • Data breaches
Government databases (e.g.,
and linked services • Potential misuse for tracking
GovTech) • Misuse of personal data
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Securing identity: recommendations

• Use strong, unique passwords/ abcde12345

passphrases

• Do not share passwords/passphrases

• Enable 2-factor or multi-factor

authentication for critical accounts

• Monitor login activity and change

passwords/passphrases if a breach is
detected (e.g. use https://
haveibeenpwned.com/)
Securing identity: recommendations

• Be cautious when using public Internet (e.g. WiFi) and ensure

that you use HTTPS and/or VPN for connecting to sensitive
services

Fake WiFi
hotspot

• Avoid oversharing personal information online as they may

be used for phishing
Fake personalized
Personal email/message to
info obtain password
 5.
Digital footprints
 What are digital footprints?
• Digital footprints are traces of data when users engage
in online activities

Browser Online services

• Digital footprints can be active or passive

‣ Active: deliberate sharing (e.g. lling forms, posting images)
‣ Passive: tracking without participation (e.g. browser tracking)
• Digital footprints can be local (e.g. browser) or online (e.g. social
media)
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Where are digital footprints? (1) online

Active
• Data that is submitted actively to online services are
collected as part of the service (e.g. personal Content
information, images, comments)
• Data may be visible publicly (depending on the
privacy setting)
• Data (e.g. photos/posts) may be hard to remove Genie-in-
a-bottle
once it is made public as it is archived (https://
web.archive.org/)
Passive
• Online services can collect data without active IP
tracking
participation (e.g. online activities and IP addresses)
Where are digital footprints? (1) online

Agreements
• Platforms (e.g. social media) have agreements that
include clauses to give rights over users' data and
online activities
• Common themes include:

Clause Explanation
Data collection Platforms collect personal info, activity, device data
Data ownership User owns content but platforms can use it
Tracking Permission to track activities across sites
Data sharing Data shared with advertisers and partners
Data retention Platforms may retain data even after account deletion
Liability Platforms not liable for breaches or data misuse
Where are digital footprints? (2) local

Browser tracking (cookies)

• Browsers use HTTP/HTTPS web protocols to communicate
with the online service
• These web protocols as stateless i.e. they do not keep track of the
connection (e.g. who the user is, what did they do)
• To address this, a cookie (a small piece of data) is placed on the
browser by the online service to track user sessions and activities

Connection
Keep track of
user (e.g. login,
preference, cart)
Cookie
Browser Online service
Where are digital footprints? (2) local
Browser tracking ( ngerprinting)
• Cookies by third parties (e.g advertising services not directly related
to primary service) can be misused to track users without consent
• Third-party cookies can be blocked but online services can still track
users by ngerprinting
• Fingerprinting is based on triangulating multiple characteristics
(type of browser/computer, IP address) to create a unique pro le for
tracking without user's consent
Connection

Collect characteristics
Browser Online service
fi
fi
fi
 Demo
https://trackme.dev/
Why should we care about digital footprints?

Privacy Security
• Personal data: private information • Target: personal information
can be exploited makes one vulnerable to phishing,
identity theft
• Patient con dentiality: sharing of
sensitive information breaks trust • Tracking: open to exploitation

Professionalism Ethical/Legal
• Online reputation: impacts • Regulation: compliance to privacy
personal credibility laws of patient information
• Public perception: impacts • Ethics: duty to protect sensitive
perception of healthcare data and minimize harm
students/workers
fi
Digital footprints: recommendations

Manage online presence

• Separate personal and professional accounts
• Check and update privacy settings regularly
• Consider tools to check/clean digital footprint

Manage tracking
• Do not accept unnecessary cookies
• Use browser extensions to block tracking

Manage professional conduct

• Think before sharing: "Am I be comfortable if I made this public?"
• Avoid posting anything that will hurt credibility
 Summary
• Digital data is discrete and reproducible, enabling accurate
transmission, error checking and compression.
• Networks enable computers to share data and protocols like TCP/
IP ensure reliable communication by ensuring data is transmitted
reliably from source to destination addresses
• Encryption secures data during storage and transmission, achieved
using symmetric and asymmetric encryption approaches
• Managing digital identities securely ensures proper authorized
access to sensitive systems and services.
• Online activities leave digital traces and managing footprints by
limiting unnecessary data sharing and blocking trackers protects
privacy and professionalism.
See you in the next lesson
References
• Icons from Noun Project https://thenounproject.com/
• https://medium.com/@vitieeesps/analog-and-digital-signals-two-
sides-of-the-same-coin-dc06b0d242c4
• https://electronicslovers.com/sensors
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_nonlinearity
• https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/claude-
shannon-the-father-of-the-information-age-turns-1100100
• https://www.cornerstonedermatology.com/medicaldermatology/
molesandskingrowths
• https://xkcd.com/936/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog#/media/
File:Internet_dog.jpg