privtechsomeassemb
- 1. Alley | 1 Jonathan Alley Professor Lynn Burgess ENC1102 – TR 4:05-5:20P March 27, 2014 – Attended In-Class Workshop Privacy and Technology: Some Assembly May Be Required Right now, at this very moment, a computer system is tracking you. It follows your digital trail, waiting for the perfect moment to act – just before it hacks everything you own. Privacy is being strangled to death when it comes to the objectives of national security, new technologies and businesses, especially with developments such as these: And new tracking technologies are just around the corner: companies are building facial recognition technology into phones and cameras, technology to monitor your location is being embedded into vehicles, wireless “smart” meters that gauge the power usage of your home are being developed, and Google has developed Glass, tiny cameras embedded in eyeglasses that allow people to take photos and videos without lifting a finger. (Angwin) Nevertheless, it is clearly becoming the number one casualty in the progression of these subjects. Privacy is frequently thought of as the ability to sequester intimate or personal information and effects from others; perhaps in a different age such would be still true. In effect however, the domain of privacy has expanded proportionally as one's ability to disseminate information increased. Technology is intertwined with most aspects of our everyday lives, consequently our demand for privacy did not keep pace with these rapidly advancing tools. Recent efforts in the European Union (EU) indicate as such: currently they are implementing a massive overhaul to privacy and data protection. While beneficial uses for this data collectively have been demonstrated, such as
- 2. Alley | 2 scientific research and crime prevention, there is a considerable need to exercise caution with the use of these technologies. Abuses such as the NSA's TURBINE program show there is a significant need to reexamine our considerations of privacy; programs such as this undermine the privacy of data worldwide. Advances in visual technologies such as flash and video photography are simply shrinking the unrecorded portions of everyday life, with many public places already being unknowingly recorded and monitored (Angwin). Businesses play an integral role in this as they supply many of the methods one may employ to interface socially online; frequently contracting services and information to law enforcement agencies for surveillance purposes. With technology pressing forward on all frontiers, is privacy being lost in the rush? Technology has changed the fundamentals of privacy, information once regarded as private can now be employed against anyone considering the mass surveillance in play. Beginning with the census (an early form of government data collection and aggregation), this early surveillance technique was instrumental in persecuting a number of different groups: draft dodgers, the Japanese and Jewish peoples, among many others. Abuse of census data is not incidental only to these time periods – consequently, Australia's treatment of their aboriginal people and the effects of the Apartheid are very recent examples. Indeed, much of today's privacy laws find their roots in the struggles of these groups and the protection of their rights. Surveillance such as census data abuse has only continued to develop and evolve into more drastic malefactions within governments as new gray areas arose for exploitation. Consider the FBI program COINTELPRO from the 1960's – J. Edgar Hoover's pet program for demoralizing and spying on “subversives”, which relied on gathering personal information through electronic mediums (Angwin). The FBI used this program to harass and defame Martin Luther King Jr. among other notable persons, even a titan such as this great man struggled under the FBI's assault of their private information (Angwin). While the US Census has aboded by privacy laws since its previous violations, this shows how even the most basic collections of data have a potential to harm many. As Angwin concludes, “These stories
- 3. Alley | 3 illustrate a simple truth: information is power. Anyone who holds a vast amount of information about us has power over us.” Privacy is the key to maintaining and strengthening trust among members of society; it must be our bare assumption that one does not live under continuous scrutiny. Governments use of surveillance has seen an explosive expansion in the past few years. This is generally accepted due to the accelerated pace at which technologies are developed that are relevant to national security. After the September 11th attacks and the requisite legislation passed thereafter (The USA PATRIOT Act), through this authorization the NSA has spurred hooks into internet and cellular service providers globally, supposedly to provide them with the ability to tune into potential terrorists and other perceived threats. This led to a growing dissent about the types of information the NSA were collecting, considering that the majority of cellular information recently leaked originates from Verizon. Uncharacteristically, Dutch Ruppersberger, a US Congressman on the House intelligence committee proposed legislation to end the bulk collection of cell phone data by the NSA (Ackerman). The congressman attempted to coordinate with NSA officials in order to restore the credibility of the agency among US citizens, by passing legislation that would limit mass surveillance activities of the NSA despite his long held beliefs on the benefits of current techniques (Ackerman). These acts by the government and its administration to make only a few of the NSA's activities respect privacy rights are certainly falling short of the mark. These attempts to restructure would leave the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) courts largely intact as they are, having little to no effect on how the appeals process effects the NSA. This leaves little to no supervision of surveillance activities and programs, thus no redress for violations, as these courts operate in secret and never deny any requests. Concurrently, the most certain consequence of all these developments is that it appears the NSA has already begun moving along to other, larger projects. The NSA has a variety of responsibilities and duties when it comes to national security, and while their role in American intelligence is indispensable to military and corporate resources, this
- 4. Alley | 4 consequently makes its activities highly secretive. The problem with secretive intelligence is a severe lack of oversight and regulation and therefore distrust due to its very nature. Likewise, a complication arises when documents leak about a program known as TURBINE, an automated system operated by the NSA for worldwide hacking activities. The system is primarily used to infect millions of computers and devices worldwide and harvest data from the compromised devices, leaving one with challenging questions for the organization's role in global networks (Gallagher). The system even goes as far as impersonating websites, generating spam emails, intercepting file downloads, all of which are implanted with viruses. These viruses can control attached cameras, microphones and harvest data. Clearly, the largest consequence of these actions nonetheless is the potential for malicious third parties to exploit these technologies because they are implemented into basic structures of the internet at “chokepoints” (Gallagher). According to Matthew Blaze, a University of Pennsylvania surveillance expert, “That’s the last place that we should be allowing intelligence agencies to compromise the infrastructure – because that is by definition a mass surveillance technique,” (qtd. in Gallagher). The congressman is right on the money when it comes to revisiting the NSA's mass surveillance activities, however if anything beneficial for privacy is to be done, the aim of such legislation must be honed. There is a considerable need for regulation and oversight of practices like those of the NSA's, as these activities undermine privacy on the whole. There are many initiatives toward privacy in technology, both in government and business alike and one must examine their intentions with regard to privacy. Certainly users can take steps to protect themselves from these types of surveillance, though it can take some expertise to protect themselves adequately. Most technology consumers subscribe to some form of data protection, and this awareness has only expanded into further markets. Recent plans from companies indicate there is a growing global market for privacy in the smartphone industry, and as such FreedomPop and SGP Technologies unveiled their individual plans for an encrypted wireless service (Dwoskin). As Dwoskin cites: “Forrester Research says 8% of Internet users have downloaded a service that allows
- 5. Alley | 5 them to see which companies are tracking their browsing habits.” This supplants the growing awareness of privacy online; users are already beginning to shift their habits in response to the continued surveillance of their every digital move. This only begins to address such issues, considering the variety of personal information that is continually abused. As Brian Schneier, Chief Technology Officer at Co3 Systems, describes: “The Federal Trade Commission is now looking at what to do about cellphone tracking in stores. You can be surveilled in a store because you're carrying a phone. We've moved into an era when we are always observed,” (Poppick). By contrast, the EU is doing a far better job of protecting privacy than the FTC. By striking out any potential gray areas for business and government to expand their surveillance techniques, the EU has reestablished the credibility of their networks. As Meyer reports, “This would include much higher fines for breaches of data protection law in the EU, the limited right for citizens to demand the erasure of their personal data, and strict limitations on what can be done with EU citizens’ data outside the union.” These strides forward in privacy policy represent the type of forward thinking necessary for privacy's survival in this technological singularity. If any true progress is to be made, it must be through the trust and understanding of society. Currently, there are a myriad of complications that face the subject of privacy today. Society must adapt to the progression of technology and learn to respect the role of privacy in human culture. Governments may find the use of surveillance indispensable for maintaining operations and security, yet they must refrain from alienating their citizens through constant surveillance. Privacy is not an acceptable collateral for security – is this not the reason for the security to begin with? Transparency will be instrumental in returning government intelligence activities to an ethical state and the only true avenue for redemption. Recourse mast begin with legislation and political bodies, and additionally through working with the private sector and individuals. Society may still be able to ameliorate some of the escalating abuses of surveillance already perpetrated worldwide by both governments and corporations. Outreach by advocates of privacy continue to grow by the day,
- 6. Alley | 6 through educating ourselves on these subjects we may make true progress in privacy. The most certain fact after all is that privacy has been devastated, we all must act to fix it now!
- 7. Alley | 7 Works Cited: Angwin, Julia. "Here’s How You May Already Be Getting Hacked." BillMoyerscom. Public Affairs Television, Inc., 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Gallagher, Ryan, and Glenn Greenwald. "How the NSA Plans to Infect 'Millions' of Computers with Malware." The Intercept. First Look Productions, Inc., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. Meyer, David. "Web Firms Face a Strict New Set of Privacy Rules in Europe — Here’s What to Expect" Gigaom. Gigaom, Inc., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. Dwoskin, Elizabeth. "Encrypted Phones Emerge to Keep Prying Eyes Out." Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition 05 Mar. 2014: B5. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Ackerman, Spencer. "Top Democrat on House Intelligence Panel Offers New NSA Reform Plan." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 14 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Poppick, Susie. "The Big Question: Is My Data Safe?." Money 43.3 (2014): 82. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.