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Many Tools of Big Brother Are Up and Running
wildfrontiersman writes "NY Times article, Many Tools of Big Brother Are Up and Running, quote: 'Because of the inroads the Internet and other digital network technologies have made into everyday life over the last decade, it is increasingly possible to amass Big Brother-like surveillance powers through Little Brother means. The basic components include everyday digital technologies like e-mail, online shopping and travel booking, A.T.M. systems, cellphone networks, electronic toll-collection systems and credit-card payment terminals.' This is too scary. I am now ready for a little less convenience and a little more privacy. How about you?"
Then you probably don't mind having a transmitter strapped to your body at all times? It would certainly reduce crime, and I'm sure it will help the war on terror as well. And if you have nothing to hide, what's wrong with it?
The co-author of the story is John Markoff... author of "Cyberpunk" and the very same guy that helped capture Kevin Mitnick with Tsutomu Shimomura using mobile phone taps and server logs? I don't know, maybe this article seems a tad hypocritical coming from an guy who got a lot of success for himself and his books by infringements of the privacy of another individual.
Of course, you being prepared to give up your privacy sure helped when those Saudis crashed planes into the Pentagon and WTC. Tell me why you think the government snooping on YOU (or any other law abiding citizen) would prevent terrorists from blowing up a city?
Are we having trouble connecting the dots here?
I wasn't prepared to let the government into my private life before 9-11; however, after watching the utter destruction of two enormous and inhabited landmarks outside my window, I'm now more than a little convinced of the neccessity for a more "proactive" governmental response to the threat of terrorism.
Those Saudis and others who commandeered the airliners were seemingly "law abiding" residents while they were in this country. This didn't stop them from launching the attacks that snuffed out the lives of some 2,500 people. Maybe "Big Brother" would have came across something that would have prevented such an audacious assault on my city and nation, maybe not, we'll never know. What I do know is that in the future, I would very much like my tax dollars to be spent first and foremost upon providing basic personal safety.
Ever heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?
"This is too scary. I am now ready for a little less convenience and a little more privacy. How about you?"
Hey... the genie is already out of the bottle, the only question left is who will he serve? The rich, powerful, well-connected or crooked could always find out whatever they wanted to about you. The only difference now is they can do it a lot faster. Privacy laws only prevent us from spying on them.
What we need are sunshine laws that allow everybody to spy on everyone. I don't care if I live in a fishbowl as long as everybody else does too. Big deal if they put cameras on every street corner, in the police departments, at my work. If you want to se how much I earn or what I bought last week fine. Just set up the system so everybody can see all of the info, not just the rich and powerful. That will give us true freedom. Who will watch the watchmen, the watched.
I wonder how many remember Poindexter and Iran/Contra? Iran/Contra was the last time the government broke the law in a "the ends justify the means" sense where they not only sold arms to Iran, which supported terrorism at the time, but used the money to support the Contras, a South American terrorist group, which they also helped sell cocaine in the US for even more terrorist money. All parts of the deal were illegal, the congress had told Reagan not to sell weapons to Iran, and not to give weapons or money to the terrorists; importing cocaine was illegal, though I think that took everyone by surprise.
I think there are few that would justify Poindexter's pro-terrorist ends in this day when we are at the unfortunate end of the terrorist gun. But, knowing that he was part of such a conspiracy tells you that he has a contempt for the law and so can expected not to follow any meagre protections that may remain in it.
It's utterly pointless to whine about "I want more privacy!" or "I'm ready for a little less convenience!". If that's true, then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
NOT write your local MP/congressman.
NOT publish incensed diatribes on web sites of already like-minded people.
NOT bitch on blogs about the sordid state of affairs.
GET OFF THE GRID.
Don't wanna? Too bad for you then. It's easy, if you really want to:
(1) Stop using checks, credit cards and debit cards. Use cash and money orders.
(2) Only use the internet from libraries and public places.
(3) Switch ID's very often when you do use the Net.
(4) Only use pay phones and disposable cell phones (the prepay kind). Change your number often.
(5) If you have a PC (and I mean PC, not a Mac or Sparc) in the house, do everything from inside a VMWare session, which you restore clean each use. This means creating a virtual machine, copying the machine to a new location, and every PC use, copy the VM over and start fresh. Store all docs on external media.
(6) Get off the public utility grid. In the US, form corporations to buy property, and do not have utilities (i.e., use candles).
If you're serious about wanting privacy, then take matters into your own hands. Complaining that we SHOULDN'T track everyone's activity is a waste of time. If it's possible, and marginally legal, someone will do it.
I am a marketer. I make a living building profiles of consumers and tailoring messages for them. I can buy, for most Amercians, and some Australians, lists with your address, income, # children, ages and genders of children, value of your house, income of your neighbors, your age, interests, hobbies, education, assets, your past addresses spanning roughly 10-20 years, how long you've lived at your address, how often you improve your property, what catalogs you buy from and how often, a decent guess at your ethnicity, and nearly anything else. The only thing that amazes me is that we're not further than we are in knowing everything about you.
Because there's an important fact that college students et. al. need to be aware of - big brother is not the government building spy lists of data on you to further their nefarious control over you. Big brother is marketers for whom it is financially critical to know everything about you. Politics may change, but economics rarely do.
Tread lightly. I'm watching.
Becayse the amount of things you can be screwed in court over for is increasing. And as they increase, it's getting easier and easier to become the victim of a lawsuit, incidental criminal action, etc.
Remember, when the wrong person gets your number, bad things may happen. I've been a tightly law-abiding citizen my whole life. I've also had unavoidable/semi-unavoidable run-ins with the law on a few occasions.
a) Problem with ex-girlfriend. A "good samaritan" saw "a dispute", called it in, and I landed in court. Nobody believes when a woman is the one beats you down, even if you're the one with a black-eye and split lip.
Now, I'm sure there are other things they can dredge up to make me appear guilty. Police, at least around here, have also been known to be somewhat liberal with the "truth", especially when there's no evidence against any claims they make.
Luckily, all my various incidents worked out, and I have a good job. One should realize however, how easily it is to be screwed over by those in power, and how a thourough lambasting can make one fear for fear for ones security, employability etc. Nobody wants a rap sheet, especially one that's not deserved (semi-private or not).
Everytime someone posts about a new technological device/method/way/means of doing something, people scrutinize it for how it can be misused or controlled.
In all honesty, big-brother is nothing more than someone else poking their nose into your business for their own means. In other words, I could go out my door and follow one of my neighbors around for a week, observing and noting what they do. Perhaps I cannot observe all of the things they do/say, but I'm quite certain I could observe enough to gain insight into their daily life and use it for whatever purpose I want.
With that in mind, any time you use a public infrastructure - be it the internet or a public switched telephone network, you are giving up some privacy (That's why they call it PUBLIC) and the ability to be observed.
Each must judge for themselves what they deem intrusive and if you don't like a device/method - don't use it. Leave it for the rest of us who deem it an asset to our lives.
At risk of bringing back memories of Jon Katz and "The Hellmouth"... A lot of the postings I'm seeing is that we geeks object more to the fact that information about us can be twisted to the benefit of those in power than to the fact that it's available in the first place. I also gather that this concern is totally lost on the "average" American.
Could it be that the sorts of experiences we had as teenagers fosters these particular kinds of fears? One of the things that hurt me the most in high school was the way anything I said got twisted around as something to make fun of me for until the only way to escape was to never say anything. I've also got an enormous distrust of those in power and a persecution complex from hell, and all this is suddenly sounding very familiar now that I sit and think about it.
Of course it's not a scientific argument by any means, but I have to wonder if there's something to debate here...
--Fesh
Kill -9 'em all, let root@localhost sort 'em out.
Have you watched the movie 'Traffic'... it's all about numbers and odds. If you travel through places that carry lots of people flow, you are rather safe (you won't arrouse suspicion). For places that aren't crowded like this, you get less footprint...
Example: cross from Toronto to Detroit, you have a pretty good chance of being asked your nationality, and that's it.
Same in most european countries. Fly to Paris, and then find a car (don't make me explain how to do that)... and ride on off... Cross into slavic countries as fast as you can, and then roll on down to turkey.
Be a 'new age' tourist. Pass from a non tourist heavy location where they *don't* have computer terminals (borders are wide lines, and not many are always computerized). And ride on down to Iran.
It's not complicated. It's illusion to think that governments are all over the place... frick, the CIA hasn't been able to kill Saddam for years now because they just can't find out where he is...
It's just as easy to live in your own little country and not leave a wide footprint. It's all about being aware of different data you leave around the place, and being careful not to leave hints on how to correlate it: like your email, and your actual location, your phone # and your IP, your name and your CC#. Even your passwords are hints as to who you are...
In fact, there was an interesting concept in a book called "Writing Secure Code" (Moft PRess), on how the majority of the current passwords could be sniffed out: create a porn site... clean, free of popups. Get people to register for free (don't even ask for email), and you have a very good chance that people will choose the same password they use on most of their other accounts when they create an account for you...