Why Privacy Matters

Privacy rights can be a polarizing issue in our current political climate. If you’re concerned about your privacy rights, you’re liable to be labeled as paranoid. Unfortunately, many people see the issue as black and white, thinking, “I have nothing to hide; people so concerned about privacy are probably up to something no good.”

The problem is that many people fail to see privacy as a security problem. In this context, all of us have something to hide and protect. It’s our identity. Identity theft is quickly outpacing all other electronic crimes facilitated in part by eroding privacy protections and massive data collection by corporations. It isn’t Big Brother you need to be concerned about, it’s Little Brother, Inc.

Corporations have created huge databases of our shopping habits, financial data, age, health, hobbies, and more. Actually, they’ve been doing this for years; the new problem is data sharing (or selling) and data mining. Bits and pieces of information from hundreds of seemingly unrelated databases can combine to create accurate personal profiles.

Unbelievably, much of this information finds its way into public databases, either available for free on the Internet or by subscription. If you use the Internet a lot then you’ve probably left an even easier trail to follow. Everything you’ve posted or written on the net has been indexed and cached somewhere, just waiting for someone to retrieve it.

The amount of data accessible in public and private databases is staggering. In a few minutes, if you know where to look, you can gather enough information about the average adult U.S. citizen to assume their identity and commit fraud. If you’re willing to pay for access to private databases, you can find out even more.

As a test, a client asked me to see what I could discover about him, strictly using the Internet, and not using any of the usual channels I would use in an investigation or background check. In one hour, I had a complete background, including the following:

• His birthdate

• His mother’s maiden name

• His home address and phone numbers

• Five profiles, under aliases, on MSN and Yahoo

• His mortgage deeds and related records

• Partial health history

• Where he went to high school

• Cell phone number

• Five e-mail addresses

• Divorce and marriage records

• His Social Security number

When I began all I knew was his name and where he worked. All I used for research was the Google search engine and a few public databases. In fact, public databases are becoming so complete that many law enforcement agencies use them in investigations. One federal agent that I know swears that Google is the best thing to happen to law enforcement in years.

The insecurity of wireless networks and emerging technologies for tracking mobile wireless users are compounding existing privacy problems. In order to protect your privacy, you first need to understand these threats. The following sections present these issues.