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Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

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Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#71

Post by tryingagainbro »

shallot_router wrote: post #32
tryingagainbro wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not particularly worried, Google and Facebook have two of the best security teams in the world and spend an amazing amount of money to protect customer data. NSA begs to differ, on both counts https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/the-nsa-files CIA too https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/

Yes, but if you reside in the US and NSA or CIA want to get your data, they are going to get it. Even if you have the best security team and program in the world.

Missed my point, maybe I didn't make that clear: if there's an org with brilliant math PHDs and security people with virtually unlimited budgets, that's NSA.

Yet, their info got out. If they got hacked....

Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#72

Post by _tulpa »

orthecreedence wrote: post #62
Gracana wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you still have the choice to not sign up for a Google account or a Facebook account Unless you're careful to guard against it, you're loading up Facebook and Google's trackers on just about every site you visit. Registering for an account is not a prerequisite for them to build a profile on you.

Can someone open a bank account in my name or take out a loan based on data google/facebook have on my browsing history? I kind of doubt it. I saw this post and immediately thought "propaganda" as well.

Maybe, just maybe, there's a bit more at stake than just your credit rating.

Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#73

Post by orthecreedence »

_tulpa wrote: post #72
orthecreedence wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can someone open a bank account in my name or take out a loan based on data google/facebook have on my browsing history? I kind of doubt it. I saw this post and immediately thought "propaganda" as well.

Maybe, just maybe, there's a bit more at stake than just your credit rating.

Maybe I can be concerned about both at the same time. Just because Facebook and Google have damaging information about me doesn't mean Equifax doesn't. Also, I am not a homeowner, so a hit to my credit could be devastating financially.

As others have said, google/facebook are opt-in. I have knowingly given them the information they have on me. Equifax is not opt-in. I have never used any of their services.

Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#74

Post by CaptSpify »

arkem wrote: post #27
tryingagainbro wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not particularly worried, Google and Facebook have two of the best security teams in the world and spend an amazing amount of money to protect customer data. NSA begs to differ, on both counts https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/the-nsa-files CIA too https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/

I've read the reporting of Snowden's leaks and I have at least as much exposure to the inner workings of the five eyes as Snowden did and I have come to a different conclusion. I do not believe that Google is voluntarily handing over any sensitive customer data to the NSA without legal compulsion. I would not be surprised if intelligence agencies around the world including US based ones target Google's communications…

> I do not believe that Google is voluntarily handing over any sensitive customer data to the NSA without legal compulsion

Why does it matter if it's under legal compulsion or not. At the end of the day they are handing over your data. They could choose not to store it, thus making it impossible to do, but they don't.

Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#75

Post by solomatov »

solomatov wrote: post #44

People don't understand why it's dangerous because such hacks are what Taleb calls black swans. They are really rare, but their results might be catastrophic in unforeseen way. Those who thinks that Google and Facebook have harmless data compared to Equifax, imagine what criminals might do with all your information located there to target you. Add here AI technologies, like NLP and speech synthesis, and it gets reall…

Marc Goodman wrote a book on this: http://www.futurecrimesbook.com/bios/marc-goodman

He has a TED talk about the same topic: https://www.ted.com/talks/marc_goodman_a_vision_of_crimes_in...

Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#76

Post by CaptSpify »

arkem wrote: post #21
lisper wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> unless compelled to do so by law That's a pretty significant hedge. Also, how effective are Google's processes against dishonest employees? It would not be hard for, say, the Chinese government to plant a mole in Google's security team. (Actually, the real nightmare scenario is a Chinese mole in Intel or Apple's hardware team.)

Google fights against subpoenas and warrants all the time but sometimes they lose. At that point they have to comply or be held in contempt and I can't really blame Google for complying in that situation. With many thousands of engineers it is totally possible for bad actors to have infiltrated Google. It's one of the reasons why there are such strict protocols for accessing customer data or production hardware. The…

> Google fights against subpoenas and warrants all the time but sometimes they lose. At that point they have to comply or be held in contempt and I can't really blame Google for complying in that situation.

I can and do blame them without hesitation. They could choose not to store that data, or make it zero-knowledge-based, yet they choose not to.

Just because they've been compelled to hand over data via legal means does not excuse them for doing the wrong/insecure thing in the first place.

Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#77

Post by CaptSpify »

notacoward wrote: post #50
s73ver_ wrote: post #47

Do they? Cause Equifax has my financial info. Facebook and Google know that I like cat videos.

Exactly. Also, people opt in to Google and Facebook, at least to some degree. I never consented to Equifax having my data, and I got nothing in return for it. It's the difference between a free transaction - even one you regret later - and theft.

> people opt in to Google and Facebook

What about shadow profiles? Nobody is opting into those.

Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#78

Post by CaptSpify »

xtracerx wrote: post #22

Why does it feel like there is a barrage of propaganda being published against tech companies right now?

Probably because they've been using known and unsafe practices for a long time, and we're giving them a bunch of our data. Seems like "propaganda" is the wrong term, and "legitimate concern and skepticism" would be the correct term.

Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#79

Post by pjc50 »

orthecreedence wrote: post #62
Gracana wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you still have the choice to not sign up for a Google account or a Facebook account Unless you're careful to guard against it, you're loading up Facebook and Google's trackers on just about every site you visit. Registering for an account is not a prerequisite for them to build a profile on you.

Can someone open a bank account in my name or take out a loan based on data google/facebook have on my browsing history? I kind of doubt it. I saw this post and immediately thought "propaganda" as well.

Not yet, but it's the sort of thing I can imagine happening in a couple of years. I think there have already been a couple of attempts at involving FB profiles in credit ratings.

And of course you can be refused a job based on your social media profile, or whatever comes up when people Google for your name.

Re: Forget Equifax. Facebook and Google Have the Data That Should Worry You

#80

Post by bluntfang »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #51
TeMPOraL wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think one can excuse them from not securing themselves against their own government physically tapping their internal network.

It's referred to as "their internal network", but these taps were not within their buildings, as far as I recall. From my understanding, these are still leased lines run externally from facility to facility. It's been generally assumed that nobody is between points A and B on that line, but the line is still largely traveling through unsupervised space, and we are not the only government to have invested significant…

and don't forget that most (all?) modern lines have been funded directly by the US government. For all intents and purposes...they are government owned.
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