Michael Chertoff

Michael Chertoff says Big Data is not so much a product of the internet as of globalization. It is commerce that caused the new tools of Big Data to come into being and play. They made the mountains of information saleable. But regardless of where cyber abuse began, the law has clearly not kept up, and that is leading to loss of autonomy – our ability to act as we wish. Exploding Data is a collection of anecdotes and case law exploring the explosion. There is nothing new here, but if you’ve never heard of cybercrime or device tracking, this is a good overview. As for Chertoff, he gives away nothing – no deep insight from all his years at Homeland Security and Justice.

He calls for a five point, wobbly approach to new legislation to protect what we have, and encourage the private sector to participate and police the internet. He actually calls for old-fashioned privateers, empowered to stop the criminals. This cyber vigilante-ism will not work of course. The pirates who obtained government letters of marque to plunder foreign vessels were in it for the gold. They were not playing offense or defense for the good guys. From Chertoff, someone in the eye of the storm, this is a facile disappointment.

Despite Chertoff, the basic rule of thumb still applies. If there is no charge for the product, you are the product. Protect your data and reveal it sparingly. And when push comes to shove, you can rest assured that you are on your own.

David Wineberg… (meer)