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When it comes to internet privacy, be afraid, analyst suggests

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Re: When it comes to internet privacy, be afraid, analyst suggests

#41

Post by DanielBMarkham »

simias wrote: post #20
hammock wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Perhaps this is a good reason to have some sort of technocracy element to the federal government Thought you were going to say "regulate privacy protections." Instead you went for breaking up monopolies. Impressive leap

He has a point though. Right now if you have an android smartphone, use gmail and google search you're telling google basically everything you do, where you are, what you have an interest in and the people you know. Each of these services in isolation can know a great deal about you but being able to correlate the data makes it so much worse. That's why I try to avoid putting all of my eggs in the same basket, I have…

That's why I try to avoid putting all of my eggs in the same basket

This is what I had been trying up until six or seven years ago. At that point it just got too complex to build and maintain.

With ISPs selling our location and traffic data, I think there's no engineering your way around the problem now. Perhaps the best we can do is damage mitigation.

Re: When it comes to internet privacy, be afraid, analyst suggests

#43

Post by rm_-rf_slash »

Kadin wrote: post #35
rm_-rf_slash wrote: post #10

I once asked Bruce Schneier at a conference to scare me. He told me to consider the associations between data. Bits and pieces that Google knows about me, that Facebook knows about me, that Amazon knows about me...think of all of those little meaningless bits of data being associated all together to build a picture perfect model of my life, and then sold to advertisers, who know enough about your life to attempt to m…

I am honestly surprised there is not more ultra-targeted advertising to either ultra-high-net-worth individuals, or to individuals in key positions within large institutions. E.g., there are ads all over the DC Metro for huge defense-sector projects, like a particular company's bid for fighter-jet engines. They're spending huge sums on these ad buys, which presumably are aimed at only a handful of people who actually…

Interesting premise. Could even be the plot of a present day sci-fi novel (an executive goes about their day of seemingly random inconveniences amidst a high-stakes battle between advertising firms directing the exec towards their clients). Almost reminds me of The Game, which was the greatest film ever made and I will hear NO argument.

That being said, most of the wealthy people I know personally tend not to use computers when they can call up concierge services to handle complex tasks for them. That most wealthy people I know happen to be older and not as used to using computers for every problem may just be more of an age rather than economic dissonance.

Re: When it comes to internet privacy, be afraid, analyst suggests

#44

Post by gglitch »

hnaccy wrote: post #8

I'm already extremely pessimistic about these things. Computers were a mistake and represent the greatest threat to freedom in human history. The ability of those in power to mass produce perfectly obedient machines that can perform complex tasks without rest allow for a nightmare society. Additionally machine learning asymmetrically benefits those with the resources to fully leverage large amounts of data collection…

> Computers were a mistake and represent the greatest threat to freedom in human history. The ability of those in power to mass produce perfectly obedient machines that can perform complex tasks without rest allow for a nightmare society.

I think about that a lot. It suggests to me that the real problem lies not with technology, but with something unavoidable and self-destructive about human nature.

Re: When it comes to internet privacy, be afraid, analyst suggests

#46

Post by losteverything »

grondilu wrote: post #39

Can someone explain to me why this so-called "privacy" is such a big deal on internet? Can't internet, or at least a major part of it, be considered a public place? I mean, when I walk in the street, I do not wear a mask (I suspect that'd be illegal in my country), yet I do not worry about someone using surveillance cameras to track all my activities. Sure, it could technically be done but I'm not that important : no…

It's about ease.

Before the internet, it was very hard for the average person to find out stuff. Maybe not having a ring on the finger meant they are single. Or are they divorced?

Now, it is just too easy. And commonplace.

Sure, all if our lifes events could have been collected. They were called biographers. Now they are called everyman.

Data had always been collected. Just never easily retrieved.

For me, i am appalled that some people i know think absolutely nothing about googling a person they just met. To me, they were not reared properly of they do that.

Re: When it comes to internet privacy, be afraid, analyst suggests

#47

Post by [deleted] »

rm_-rf_slash wrote: post #10

I once asked Bruce Schneier at a conference to scare me. He told me to consider the associations between data. Bits and pieces that Google knows about me, that Facebook knows about me, that Amazon knows about me...think of all of those little meaningless bits of data being associated all together to build a picture perfect model of my life, and then sold to advertisers, who know enough about your life to attempt to m…

[deleted]

Re: When it comes to internet privacy, be afraid, analyst suggests

#48

Post by carrier_lost »

grondilu wrote: post #39

Can someone explain to me why this so-called "privacy" is such a big deal on internet? Can't internet, or at least a major part of it, be considered a public place? I mean, when I walk in the street, I do not wear a mask (I suspect that'd be illegal in my country), yet I do not worry about someone using surveillance cameras to track all my activities. Sure, it could technically be done but I'm not that important : no…

You might not be important now. But you might be "important" in the future due to your affiliation with a political group, religion or even your skin color. You never know which way the political winds will blow. And data is kept forever.

Re: When it comes to internet privacy, be afraid, analyst suggests

#49

Post by [deleted] »

grondilu wrote: post #39

Can someone explain to me why this so-called "privacy" is such a big deal on internet? Can't internet, or at least a major part of it, be considered a public place? I mean, when I walk in the street, I do not wear a mask (I suspect that'd be illegal in my country), yet I do not worry about someone using surveillance cameras to track all my activities. Sure, it could technically be done but I'm not that important : no…

[deleted]

Re: When it comes to internet privacy, be afraid, analyst suggests

#50

Post by hnaccy »

leggomylibro wrote: post #30
hnaccy wrote: post #8

I'm already extremely pessimistic about these things. Computers were a mistake and represent the greatest threat to freedom in human history. The ability of those in power to mass produce perfectly obedient machines that can perform complex tasks without rest allow for a nightmare society. Additionally machine learning asymmetrically benefits those with the resources to fully leverage large amounts of data collection…

But at that point, society would basically be full-on Cyberpunk. Screw suicide, form a gang of runners and start planning heists on manufacturing facilities and factories, lay traps for driverless truck shipments or hijack them electronically, etc. Hide in the margins, among the slums and tenements to which overpopulation and consolidation have relegated vast swarms of people. Heck, I've already gotten transdermal im…

Cyberpunk is a fiction because it peddles the naive fantasy that anarchistic actions would be feasible in such a world.

There's not going to be any clever tricks to avoid being picked up the mass physical surveillance network.

Hacking is simply infeasible for the vast majority of people given the complexity of systems and how much intelligence and knowledge is required.

Action movie heists of high value targets are basically impossible to get away with these days let alone in a decade or two.

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