3 Shocking Revelations from NSA's Most Terrifying Program Yet

[ljm2002]

102. "conspiracy nuts" and "haters of the administration"...

...hey, way to elevate the conversation there...

It is true, the internet was never private. I remember years ago when the then-CEO of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, was in the papers saying (paraphrased) "There is no privacy on the internet, and everyone needs to get over it." My position has always been, he's right about everything except the "get over it" part.

But people did not care so much then about the lack of privacy on the internet, because they had not thought it through much and the internet is so useful in so many ways, so that consideration overrode any concerns about online privacy. Most people had not thought much about governmental monitoring and the openness of the packets that deliver information -- and of course there is always the comforting thought that "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about."

So here we are. Various things have happened to make people more aware of their lack of privacy on the internet. Hearing about the NSA scooping up so much communication data, include domestic call logs and apparently an awful lot of content as well -- that has made people at long last start to grok things. It's one thing to think about things you want to keep from friends and family, for whatever reason; it's quite another thing to realize the government preemptively tracks everyone's phone calls, and a lot more besides. That brings it to another level and people are starting to get that..

Techies can be condescending about the lack of technical understanding among non-techies. But that is just ignorant. It does take awhile for people to fully understand any new technology, and how it will affect our day to day lives. Ultimately it does not require in depth technical knowledge to be a savvy and protected user. It does require a good practical understanding of how data is handled and what steps are effective in protecting it. This Snowden thing if nothing else, has shown the public in very stark terms what this new age enables in terms of data collection and analysis.

My prediction is we will see a spike in the use of encryption, use of the TOR network, vpns, etc. to try and retain a semblance of privacy. We are continuing to evolve in our relationship to this truly revolutionary technology known as the Internet.