All posts tagged privacy

Violating Your Own Ethical Standards

In another followup to a post about the absence of professional ethics in startups and blogging, Casey Johnson at Ars Technica has written a great piece about Marius Milner, the Google engineer who “collected personal data from WiFi networks, including e-mail addresses and passwords, with the company’s Street View cars between May 2007 and May 2010.”  According to the FCC, Milner’s actions were legal.  But, of course, lots of immoral things are legal.

What’s interesting here is that parts of what Milner did clearly violated the ethical standards that were developing among the “wardriving” community he was a part of.  Wardrivers drive around with wi-fi tools and computers trying to find open wi-fi networks that can be used to connect to the internet.  The location of open networks that wardrivers find are then shared so that people can use them.

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by Jim Caccamo on May 11, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in moral theory, trust
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Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 11, 2012

https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/11/ignoring-professional-ethics-another-case/

It’s a Problem With Law, Not Technology

Early pioneers of cyberspace reveled in the anonymity and potential.  The feeling of “wild west” style lawlessness was a bit of a rush—all that space and no one to answer to.  That was then…

but this is now. If you are under any impression that things are still like that, check out some of the stories circulating lately on the FBI’s desire for a “wiretap ready” web.  Back in February, FBI general counsel Valerie Caproni complained that criminals no longer used the technologies that law enforcement could legally intercept.  As a result, it is easy for criminals to “go dark” and avoid the kind of surveillance in the analog world that is routinely used to catch criminals before the act.

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by Jim Caccamo on May 8, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in common good
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Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 8, 2012

https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/08/its-a-problem-with-law-not-technology/

“Don’t Be a Tool” and Other Friendly Reminders

When I was a kid, I remember people having diaries.  They chronicled their lives writing their innermost thoughts as a way of processing and remembering.  These diaries were hidden away so no one saw them, and sometimes had little locks on them to symbolize the privacy of their contents.  I presume that some people still keep diaries.  I know people who carry journals around and write in them.  But I also know people who chronicle their lives in public via Twitter, blogs, or Facebook. Many people chose to share their more than they used to, and draw the lines between public and private in new ways.

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by Jim Caccamo on April 26, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in prudence
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Posted by Jim Caccamo on April 26, 2012

https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/04/26/dont-be-a-tool-and-other-friendly-reminders/

Privacy Is About More Than Just Fear

Last week, Josh Constine over at Tech Crunch wrote an interesting piece on online data security. It is a worthwhile read (even if a bit flawed).  His thesis was that innovation is being hampered by public over-reaction to potential problems with the security of private data at social networking sites and in apps. Constine seems frustrated that Despite their own research that showed little danger of data compromise on Facebook apps, The Wall Street Journal still wrote “a hit piece” that warned people about privacy dangers at the site. Privacy concerns are, it seems, a fiction foisted upon an ignorant public by an corrupt media.

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by Jim Caccamo on April 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in fortitude, human development
Tagged , , ,

Posted by Jim Caccamo on April 15, 2012

https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/04/15/privacy-is-about-more-than-fear/

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