Users of social networking sites can post anything, from pictures to documents to movies, all in the social interest of "See what I'm doing..." However, it could also mean, "... and look what she's doing!"

::::::::

I recall back many years ago a movie named, "Twilight Zone - The Movie", in which many scenes play out with horrifying images. The stories are essentially recounted by a passenger and the driver of his car. Near the end of the movie, the passenger says to the driver, "Do you want to see something really scary?", at which point the passenger turns into a monster, attacking the driver.

Well, do you want to see something really scary? Review the recent article from the ComputerWorld blogs about a company named Palloriun Incorporated, a New York based company in the business of knowing everything about everybody.1 They keep a database of billions of records of information about you, your family, friends, relatives, and even loose acquaintances. When asked if the public can create an anonymous web presence, Steven Rambam, the CEO, says, "Privacy is dead. Get over it. You can't put the genie back in the bottle.".

Interestingly enough, the problem doesn't start with Pallorium and similar aggregators of personal data. It begins with what I'm calling, "Generation O", where '0' is for "Open". Social networking sites have become some of the most visited sites in America. Places such as Facebook and Myspace account for a seemingly unlimited amount of information people post about themselves and others on the internet. All of this information is generally wide open for the public to see. It wouldn't be such a problem for everyone if the sites could somehow restrict the information posted there to just that of the individual member.

The fact is, members can post anything, from pictures to documents to movies, all in the social interest of "See what I'm doing." However, it could also mean, "... and look what she's doing!"

In most cases, before you sign up on an Internet site, you have the option to read the privacy policy; a legal document detailing under what circumstances a company may divulge personal information they collect about you. If you don't agree with the policy, you can simply decide not to do business with them. On social networking sites, however, you do not have the ability to restrict what others may post about you. With an improving and increasing number of gadgets available to snap pictures, record sounds, and take video, just about everything can be made a public exposé. Much of the information you may think is private, such as text messages, e-mails, phone conversations, and anonymous blog entries can be tracked back to you, or literally snatched out of the air during the transmission of the information.

If you are the information gathering type, be careful where you dig. Mr. Rambam was arrested in 2006 for uncovering information about a person in the FBI's witness protection program.2 Even the FBI's information is vulnerable to aggregators of personal information.

We've created a new culture where private information no longer exists. Social web sites, the Internet, our cell phones and other gadgets, and our lackadaisical way of managing and openly providing our secrets in public venues has opened us up not only to aggregators and private investigators, but also to foreign internet users. According to Rambam, "You can have [all the security in the world] with the most current locks [installed], and all of that is meaningless if a 16-year-old kid can social-engineer [information about] you."

1. ComputerWorld - The Grill: Privacy is a thing of the past, says private investigator


2. Washington Post - HOPE Speaker Arrested by the Feds

 

Authors Bio:
Steven Saw is an activist educating the public about the depth of government and corporate corruption in America. Steven runs a blog, has been published in a number of sites,
and was a featured guest on FreedomFighterRadio.