Is privacy dead? Data tells the tale.
In a technological world of constant connection, many of us have willingly agreed to share all details of our lives. And many more have little idea how much corporations and governments know about them. When everything we do is connected by technology we are constantly generating data.
Bruce Schneier’s book Data and Goliath is a comprehensive look at the many places your data is being recorded, with or without your consent. It tells the contemporary tale of how companies and governments everywhere are recording everything, and the lack of discretion being used.
While a certain faction believe there is little to worry about, provided you are a “good” person, many others are worried about the seemingly Orwellian society we have found ourselves in.
Technology has provided so many benefits to us, and so quickly, that we seldom take the time to consider our data. The more information companies record, the more analysis that is possible. Much data is recorded whether or not we know how to analyze it. Data storage is cheap, and it is well worth it to save any and all data in case if becomes useful down the line.
The time you spend reading an article, viewing an image, or typing messages to particular friends. All of these actions are logged by the apps and webpages you use. The information is then used to serve you more “Effective” advertising and features for the purpose of encouraging you to spend as much time (and money) as possible with the aforementioned companies.
Much of Bruce Schneier’s book talks about the pervasiveness of organizations like the NSA. The NSA is a central example of intrusive recording of information such as eavesdropping, surveillance, and the use of metadata. While many of the NSA’s tactics seem outright intrusive I find the use of metadata to be the most pervasive use of data.
Metadata is data about data. In the context of Data and Goliath, the example of phone calls is given. While the recorded conversation would be the main “data” recorded during a phone call, the metadata would be things such as duration of call, time the call was placed, or locations of the callers.
Through the use of metadata organizations are able to pinpoint specific users with incredible accuracy. With only a few pieces of metadata derived information, organizations can pin down specific people with a high accuracy. The lowest accuracy Bruce cited in his book was still over 60%. In a world of billions connected, 60% accuracy is impressive.
The use of metadata to track down individuals is an unavoidable reality of a technologically driven world. While Bruce lays out steps one can take to secure their data, I can’t help but wonder if the efforts are futile for anyone choosing to live within the realm of modern society.
The implications of having no privacy are far reaching. A great fear is that society will stagnate without the open ability to dissent against the rules of government. Other fears are driven by the desire for personal privacy. The ability to have intimate or very personal conversations without being recorded.
We are quickly approaching a world devoid of ephemeral experiences. When everything is recorded, nothing is fleeting. Once something has happened, anywhere near technology capable of recording information (i.e. everywhere), at least a piece of the experience will always exist. Some argue that this may alter our entire value system.
Digging into the details or further implications of a world without privacy is beyond the scope of this post. If you’re looking for more information regarding the collection of your personal data, Data and Goliath is an excellent resource and I recommend the read.
