Monday, August 04, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
Big Brother is knocking
Your information is not private...
So I understand that there's a piece of paper somewhere that I believe is called the 4th amendment and it reads something like this:
Are computers digital paper? Or could we just call them effects? I think the major problem isn't just with the ability to seize and search anyone's laptop - it's the potential for unguarded abuse of the data collected. Sure, the claim is that they only look for terrorism - particularly the people who talk about it in their outlook calendar or as a text file outlining their plans. But seriously folks - when will the movie execs and software people ask for the government to search for downloaded movies and music and illegally installed software?
Further, what about protected information? I have encrypted patient data on my laptop that we do data analysis on. It's even encrypted at 256-bit using a multi-pass encryption algorithm that I think is beyond most people's understandings. But if that information is shared from organization to organization "for other reasons" to see if they can break the encryption and read the data - that seems like a violation of patient privacy (HIPPA). And while no one expects that to be a problem - we live in a country where an undercover agent's identity was unveiled as a political move -- what's to stop the data of someone's cognitive decline being used in a similar manner?
So I understand that there's a piece of paper somewhere that I believe is called the 4th amendment and it reads something like this:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Are computers digital paper? Or could we just call them effects? I think the major problem isn't just with the ability to seize and search anyone's laptop - it's the potential for unguarded abuse of the data collected. Sure, the claim is that they only look for terrorism - particularly the people who talk about it in their outlook calendar or as a text file outlining their plans. But seriously folks - when will the movie execs and software people ask for the government to search for downloaded movies and music and illegally installed software?
Further, what about protected information? I have encrypted patient data on my laptop that we do data analysis on. It's even encrypted at 256-bit using a multi-pass encryption algorithm that I think is beyond most people's understandings. But if that information is shared from organization to organization "for other reasons" to see if they can break the encryption and read the data - that seems like a violation of patient privacy (HIPPA). And while no one expects that to be a problem - we live in a country where an undercover agent's identity was unveiled as a political move -- what's to stop the data of someone's cognitive decline being used in a similar manner?
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