Your Privacy Does Not Exist

According to some reports United States citizens are caught on camera approximately 75 times per day. Cameras have become such a common feature in society that we no longer pay attention to them. It does not end there as there are many other areas of our lives where our privacy has vanished. This article will briefly cover some of the area in our everyday lives where our privacy has been eroded. And, the reality is that there is not much that we can do about it unless we choose to not use everyday technology. Even then we are being tracked and record oftentimes with our knowledge or permission.

 Cameras – Still Photos and Video 

Following is a brief list of cameras that record each of us on a daily bases:

+ Department of Transportation street cameras on highways and commuter road

+ Private businesses

+ Government facilities

+ Schools

+ Public events such as stadiums

+ Private cellphones and cameras

+ Hospitals

+ Grocery stores

+ Fast food restaurants

When it comes to all of the cameras that record you on a daily basis do you ever wonder what is happening with the recorded information! For example:

1. How long is the information recorded?
2. Is it recorded in a secure format?
3. Is facial recognition software being used to identify you?
4. If the information sold to another entity? If yes, what do they use it for?
5. Is the information being uploaded to webpages such as: YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Instagram, Pinterest, Vimeo, etc.?

Cell Phones

We are now so accustomed to having a cell phone with us all of the time. If we forget our phone we feel naked and vulnerable. We wonder how we ever survived pre-cell phone. Yet, cell phones have been a major factor in our eroding privacy. As long as you carry a cell phone and the battery is in the phone you can be tracked. Your cell phone is constantly pinging cell phone towers. If you take out the battery you can prevent this from happening. The problem is that many cell phones such as the ever popular iPhone prevent you from removing the battery. In essence, you can be tracked at all times that you carry your cell phone and there is very little you can do about it unless you carry your phone in a Faraday bag or cage which is typically not practical if you want to receive service. You may not think that this is such a big deal but think about what information a cell phone can reveal about you. It tells where you have been, how long you have been there, who you have called, who called you, length of phone calls, all text and digital information can be recorded not to mention voice data. Your contact list and calendar is also available. Cell phones provide a very clear pattern of your behavior.  These patterns reveal a lot of information especially if you break from your patterned behavior.  As you can see this is not so innocent. Also remember that many phones now allow you to download apps which may collect personally identifiable information on you without your knowledge. Additionally, law enforcement and government agencies have the capability of remotely using your phone as a listening device even when the phone is turned off! Cell phones also have the ability to geotag photos which provide very specific information on where and when the photo was taken. If you then upload photos to Facebook it is possible for anyone who can view the photo to obtain this information. Let’s face it, many people “collect” friends who they don’t know in the real world. It is possible for an individual to obtain a photo of your new T.V. or pet that you took in your house. At a later date you write a post stating that you are so excited about your upcoming vacation. Now the bad guy knows exactly where you live and that you are going on vacation. In case you are wondering, it is not difficult to obtain the geotag information from your photo. It can literally be done in minutes.

Vehicle Information

Your vehicle can also reveal information about your habits. For example, every time that you register your vehicle your mileage is being recorded. This allows the government to monitor how many miles you travel a year. This can be combined with debit or credit card information to determine how much money you spend on gas which can then  be compared to how many miles you drive. When you own a vehicle you are typically required to have insurance on the vehicle. Now it can be determined what your driving habits are, the amount of accidents you are in, tickets that you receive, if you got a DUI/DWI, etc.  Combine all of this information with the traffic cameras that record your vehicle.  Vehicles that have OnStar can also be tracked and law enforcement has that ability to eavesdrop on your conversation without your knowledge. Many people departments are also using license plate scanners that record your license and the location you were recorded. The license plate scanner is often used as a law enforcement tool to see if a car is stolen. Yet, your information may be recorded. Many police departments do not have policies on how often this information is kept.

Traveling on planes is tracked. 

Bank Accounts and Credit/Debit Cards

It is now common for many employers to direct deposit pay checks into your bank account. This leaves a trail of who you work for, how much you get paid, how often you get paid, and what types of accounts you are putting your money into. Even if you withdraw cash to make many of your purchases you are still creating a profile of your routine and habits.  Even if you don’t have a bank or use direct deposit you still need to cash your paycheck either at a bank or other location which leaves an electronic trail. 

Many people rely on the use of credit or debit cards. This leaves an electronic trail of your spending habits to include what you buy, where you buy it, when you buy it, and how often you buy. Many banks and credit card companies are able to provide specific details in their statements on how you are spending your money.

Medical Information

If you have medical insurance all of your medical information is collected in numerous places such as your physician’s office, insurance company, medical billing company, third party payers, etc. One of the obvious concerns is how safeguarded is this information.  Far too often the level of security for you medical information is less than adequate. Think about what your medical information says about you and your habits: are you a smoker, drinker, overweight, medical conditions, mental health diagnosis, rare disorder, etc. How can this information be used or used against you. For example, how can this information be used to prevent you from gaining employment or life insurance? But you say there are rules against this! Yes, there are and there are rules that state the NSA is not supposed to engage in domestic spying yet they are doing it anyway.

Utilities

Most of us pay for some form of utilities such as electricity, water, gas, etc. The amount of consumption can tell how many people live in your home, if you have guests, if you are using more or less than normal, etc. Again, your habits are easily identifiable.  Entertainment sources can be tracked as well such as what you watch on cable T.V., Netflix, Amazon, etc.

Internet

The Internet is the ultimate double edged sword. It provides so many useful benefits while eroding our privacy oftentimes through our own willingness to provide private information. It is probably a good policy to assume that anything you do and every web search you conduct on the Internet is tracked, recorded, and linked to you. Regardless of what type of software you use to protect your privacy or I.P. address, just assume that the government has very powerful capabilities to defeat whatever methods you use. Is this giving the government too much credit? Maybe, but never underestimate the government’s capabilities.  Also, don’t confuse the capabilities of law enforcement verses the National Security Agency. Their capabilities are vastly different. 

Many municipal and state governments are putting more and more of your information online in what they call an effort to be “transparent.” With a few clicks it is now possible to find where you live, how much you paid for your home, when you bought your home, how many square feet your home is along with other characteristics, the mortgage company you use, a copy of your signature, etc. If you know where to look you can obtain all of this information in less than 5 minutes.  Now, plug your address into a host of Internet mapping software such as Google Maps or Google Earth and you can obtain relatively high quality photographs of your house and property from an overhead view and a street view.  Just think of all the possibilities that a criminal can use this information. And it is all free on the Internet. 

Then there is social media such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and a host of others where we “willingly provide personal information” for the masses to consume and use as they see fit. Think about Facebook and how people put all of their personally identifiable information, likes, tastes, photographs, videos, comments, etc. Think about all your friends and the pages that you “Like” and what it says about you.  With many social media websites you are essentially providing a “profile” of yourself.  But they have privacy settings! Do you really trust privacy setting from any website especially Facebook? Facebook’s privacy settings are like the soup of the day. They change so often and can be so confusing that the typical user cannot effectively control their privacy setting. Remember, Facebook and all of the other social media websites are a business. They are in business to make a profit which is their primary focus; not your privacy.  Hmm, what does the Survival Skillcraft blog or Facebook say about us!

Emails are also a common tool that offers no privacy. Again, assume that all of your emails can be read regardless of the email service you use or any encryption that you use.  Even if you use PGP or GNU Privacy Guard assume that the government has a way to see your information. Also, any type of Cloud computing or online storage back-up is probably not safe from prying eyes. 

Drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Over America

Lately there has been a lot of talk and concern over the use of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) domestically, without gathering any warrants. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says it has used drones for domestic surveillance purposes in the United States at least ten times without obtaining warrants.

DARPA has revealed the ARGUS-IS its mega digital camera with a 1.8-gigapixel resolution. The camera can take clear images of objects as small as 5.9 inched from an altitude of almost 4 miles high. The ARGUS-IS array can be mounted on unmanned drones to capture an area of 15 square miles.

It would be safe to assume that drones and UAV will, someday in the not too distant future, be a common as Department of Transportation cameras. In fact, there are estimates that by the year 2020, there will be approximately 30,000 drones flying over the United States.

Employee ID Cards

Many employers now issue employee ID card that have an RFID card. The employer can easily know where you are at all times while at work. These cards are often used for security purposed and to permit you to access restricted building areas. These are especially common in secure facilities and government buildings. 

National Security Agency

The National Security Agency (NSA) is one of the most secretive organizations in the world. Much of what they do is classified and well beyond the reach of average citizens.  Recently, Edward Snowden has released classified information on the NSA’s spying programs, such as Prism and XKeyScore, along with some of their capabilities.  It would be safe to assume that the NSA has some of the best and most advanced technology on Earth capable of collecting information on billions of people worldwide. It seems that all of the major phone companies have been supplying the NSA your phone information for at least the last seven years. This includes everyone that you have call and that has called you. With all the information and metadata it is not difficult to determine a lot of information about an individual through the use of linkage. To see what the NSA is capable of according to whistleblower William Binney read the following document: http://info.publicintelligence.net/NSA-WilliamBinneyDeclaration.pdf

Conclusion

The purpose of this article is to briefly show how your private information is far from private and can be obtained and used without your knowledge.  This article is not to make you paranoid but more informed on how information can be collected, used, aggregated, profiled, linked, and analyzed.  I don’t delve into methods to reduce or eliminate how your information is used because in all practicality you can’t stop this from happening. So much information has already been collected on you that it is virtually impossible to eliminate what is already collected. And, trying to reduce your electronic footprint in the future is an exercise in futility. Yes, there are methods to do so but most people are not willing to give up some of the tools they use on a daily basis such as the computer or cell phone. 

Some people will argue that they “have nothing to hide” and that they don’t care if the government or other entities are collecting personal information with or without their knowledge or consent. Technically, this statement would apply to most citizens who are law abiding individuals. Yet, the problem is not that you are doing anything wrong it is that your information may be collected illegally or for purposes that you do not control. If you are not against this on principle then you are complacent and part of the problem.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.”

• We live in a dangerous world where terrorist want to kill us.
• We live in a criminal world where criminals want to steal from us.
• We life in a profit based world where marketers and advertisers want to sell to us.
• We life in a curious world where people want to be a voyeur into our world.

Technology is generally good for progress but like any tool it can be used for good or bad.  Chances are you do not have anything to hide and you are a law abiding person. Yet, this does not mean we should sacrifice our liberty or privacy. Laws should protect us be they oftentimes do not. Benjamin Franklin was correct when he said, “Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.”

Stand up on principle; not the fact that you have nothing to hide.