CIS Blog 9 - Privacy in an Open Digital World

I personally believe that it is better to have privacy at the expense of security. Though not cyber-security, the TSA is a good example of security going too far. I believe that it is largely a waste of time and money to have the level of security we have prior to boarding a plane. Plane attacks are a very rare occurrence. It seems to me that airport security treats all travelers like criminals. This is a wasted effort. The very few people that actually want to carry out an attack on a plane could still easily find a way to do it. Even if everything is caught during screenings, there can be ample time in the secure zone pre-flight to fashion shivs.

Cameras are everywhere, now. Generally, I think this is a good development and helps with catching criminals. More cameras, less security checkpoints, please.

When we talk about the Internet of Things and the large amounts of data that can be collected about a person, there is an obvious danger to me. That is the IOT in  a state lead by an immoral dictatorship. I mostly trust Google and Amazon with my information. I believe they are companies with good intentions. Yes, they are out to make a profit, but they are also trying to improve individual’s lives. They also are subject to laws which protect consumers. A country like North Korea having the same technological capabilities is another story. Throughout history, tyrannical governments have firmly controlled their citizens with propaganda, threats, and indoctrination. Having the power to minutely control the media that a citizen is exposed to based on data mining is a recipe for suffering. Technology could be used to monitor people 24/7 which could effectively eradicate any hopes of a successful coup against a corrupt government.

For that reason, I am opposed to governments collecting massive information on their citizens without their consent. Personally, I completely agree with what Edward Snowden did and that he did it for the best interest of the American people.

I don’t have the best online security practices. My passwords are not all “password”, but they are all similar to each other and stored together in a location that is only moderately secure. I put my trust in the hands of large companies, like my bank, credit card provider, and Amazon. I assume that they have invested large sums of money into securing their customer databases, but at the same time realize that large companies like Target and Home Depot have had security failures in the past.

There isn’t an instance in which too much security has kept me from doing something online. Things that would require the most security would be illegal. I don’t do illegal things that would require me to pay closer attention to my security.

I think that the worst is still to come in terms of governments violating the privacy and trust of their citizens. Snowden was a warning. It is scary when governments compile huge amounts of data on their citizens. It will be scarier when they figure out what to do with it.