Filed under: News | Technology News

 

Dear Julian Assange: The Internet is the Most Appalling Spy Machine Ever Invented

You're still being spied on if you don't use Facebook.

May 2 2011, 3:15pm CDT | by

Dear Julian Assange: The Internet is the Most Appalling Spy Machine Ever Invented
 
 
 

If you're a regular reader of Russia Today or a big fan of that white-haired rogue Julian Assange, you may want to watch this interview. In it, the Wikileaks founder calls Facebook the "most appalling spy machine that has ever been invented". He goes on to explain that the social network is accessible to US Intelligence, which means none of your data is ever really "private".

But I think Mr. Assange may have his focused his ire unfairly at Facebook. This last week saw Sony lose access to private data on tens of millions of people. The big story in April was that Android and iOS all stored and catalogued your location data. It's true that Facebook makes your data available to all manner of shady people.

But that's the caveat for almost any online service.

We hand out private information- financial details, entertainment preferences, contact data- every day to a galaxy of websites, retailers and services. Sometimes they justify our trust with stringent security. And other times they farm our data off to a company like Epsilon who loses it to hackers.

And there's always the risk of a service like PlayStation Network being hacked to ribbons. I'm sure every one of the 77 million people who had their identities exposed felt Sony was totally worthy of their trust. They had no way to know Sony wasn't even encrypting their data.

Just like we don't know what simple things Microsoft or Google or Nintendo or whoever will be responsible for the next big info leak is doing wrong. But there will be another leak. The PSN hack won't remain the world's largest data heist for long. The sad fact is: if you store your data online, someone can steal it.

And they won't even have to "steal" it, if they're with the right government agency. As Mr. Assange pointed out, anything you put up online can be accessed by G-Men with the proper court order. Facebook isn't the only entity that "spies" on you. Every online service you use tracks your presence, whether it's in the digital world or meatspace. You can't avoid this and still use the Internet.

The term "spy machine" isn't really appropriate, because most of the data gathered on you will never be seen by another human being. The average person isn't interesting enough to justify real "spying". But the Internet does constantly collect data that can be used to spy on you. It's really more like a giant monster that feeds on personal information and poops out giant databases of secrets. But that doesn't really make a good sound bite.

Sponsored Update

Updates

Dish: Sprint-SoftBank deal threatens national security

Source: Seattle Business Journal

TechFlash delivers technology news and trends from your city and beyond. Dish Network Corp. is fighting a SoftBank-Sprint merger. Dish Network Corp. played up a Sprint Nextel Corp. suitor’s ties to China a ...
Full article at: Seattle Business Journal  More like this  2 hours ago

Amazon Web Services wins approval to host US government clouds

Source: V3.co.uk

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has cleared a major compliance hurdle which could allow the company to strike new deals with US government agencies. The company on Tuesday revealed it has achieved compliance with the Federal Ri ...
Full article at: V3.co.uk  More like this  2 hours ago

NetApp's Q4 earnings dip, on track with expectations

Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal

TechFlash delivers technology news and trends from your city and beyond. NetApp Inc. hit its fourth-quarter estimates on Tuesday and said it would cut 900 jobs in a restructuring move. The networking equipment manufacturer reported ...
Full article at: Tampa Bay Business Journal  More like this  2 hours ago

Watch all 2013 Superbowl ads

where to buy

Don't miss ...

 

<a href="/latest_stories/all/all/5" rel="author">Robert Evans</a>
The excitement about new smartphones, tablets and anything mobile drive Robert to unearth the latest rumors and developments in this fast moving space. He adopted 4G as soon as it become available and knows where the mobile market is going.
Robert can be contacted directly at robert@i4u.com.

 

 

blog comments powered by Disqus

Latest stories

Wii U console drops $60
Wii U console drops $60
new Xbox announced, Wii U drops $60 at Target
 
 
 
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Leaked Video
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Leaked Video
The video of rugged Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is leaked online. It shows that Galaxy S4 Active includes a dual core Snapdragon processor with 8 megapixel rare camera.
 
 
Xbox One Revealed
Xbox One Revealed
Microsoft unveils the new Xbox One (former code names Xbox 720, Xbox Infinity).
 
 
 

More From the Web

Viral Stories

 
 

Viral Videos and Photos