The mysterious case of Ms. Carrie Prejean

[--Pete]

Hi,

Never has it been so easy to discover almost everything you would ever want to about an individual just using a home computer attached to the internet. Couple that with the ability to publish whatever you like, without regard to social consequence or law, because it is impossible to figure out who you are, where you are, and what laws apply.

OK, but this does say two things that you are ignoring or overlooking.

The first is that all that 'information' is useless because it is not verified. Since, as you say, people have " . . . the ability to publish whatever you like . . . ", then there is no way to determine if something is true or not. So, we, as a society, need to learn to just ignore the crap like we (at least most of us) ignore tabloid crap.

Second, as you say " . . . it is impossible to figure out who you are, where you are . . . ". That makes " . . . what laws apply . . . " rather moot. Law enforcement is pretty much based on the concepts of identifying and apprehending the lawbreakers. If you can't do those two things, then why bother passing the law?

I'm a big fan of NCIS, . . .

Yep, me too. Good show.

. . . even though most of the technical jargon is mostly crap it is based loosely on a glimmer of truth,

Hey, it's fiction, and much of their technology is science fiction.

The reality is that most corporate and government information systems are rather porous, and intrusion when done by professionals would never be visible or traceable. Pretty much, just as you described with encryption/decryption, the only safe way to prevent hacking is to keep your machine off the net, and in an RF dampened environment. Even then, there is the old fashioned way of actual intrusion through subterfuge, or proxy.

Yep. Which is why some information is kept on removable drives which are stored in a locked safe in a secure room in a secured facility. It takes a minimum of two people with the physical keys and the combination to get into the safe. It takes two people, each with his own password, to access the files. The computer is not connected to any network (including the power distribution grid; 1:1 power transformers and notch filters take care of that). And the room is a Faraday cage, interior room, soundproofed, etc. And, in some places, to get in, the guards actually have to touch your badge and they either have to recognize you or you have to be accompanied by someone they do recognize who will vouch for you. And the sign on the fence reads, "The Use of Lethal Force is Authorized Beyond This Point." And your work schedule is coordinated with satellite activity.

Been there. Hell, *lived* there.

So, the long and the short of it to me is that the only way to really protect our privacy is through the application of laws that insure we "have the right to be left alone".

Because, of course, people are scrupulous about observing laws which can only be sporadically enforced. Like the speed limit. :whistling:

--Pete