Data and Goliath

Data and Goliath is an eye-opening read. I mean, I understand how I'm under constant surveillance due to things like my smartphone or cookies or Facebook, and I understand that the government gets access to a lot of this information via the Snowden leaks, but I guess I never fully connected all the dots enough in a single unified understanding of my world. Bruce Schneier provides it.

Most of the book is somewhat technical, helping the reader understand how data about them is collected and used. It does a good job of disseminating the Snowden whistleblowing information as well, so it's all very informative. That being said, the level of information often made me feel hopeless, like there was nothing that could be done and I almost had to just accept that this is how life is now.

The final few chapters offer some respite from this feeling of hopelessness. It contains sections on what governments ought to do, what people should do in the macro sense, and even what people should do in the micro sense, just for themselves to avoid surveillance. Schneier isn't idealistic about it either, he's pragmatic, and fully admits that there are some data people will be willing to turn over for convenience, security, or usability. There's nothing wrong with that, everyone's got to find their sweet spot.

Mostly though, I just came away feeling like Bruce Schneier is a national treasure. Can I vote for him for some kind of public office? Anything really? In a world of seemingly limitless insanity, he's a consistently sane voice. I highly recommend everyone read Data and Goliath.

So, it has been almost two years since Ed Snowden leaked, and long ago you became numb to the weekly announcements of government and corporate wrong-doing. Besides, did you hear about that massive credit card theft? It reminds me of the other one just a few months back. Anyways, maybe it is time you get up to speed? Luckily your good old Uncle Bruce is some sort of fellow at the Harvard Berkman center of internet something-or-other. He will probably know the deal, so you ask him. He says, "Hey, there is a 3 day weekend coming up. Why not head out to the cabin, and I can fill you in?" You are like, cool! They have the best homemade raft out there. As requested, you leave your cellphone at home, and once you get up to the cabin, Uncle Bruce has some smores all laid out, the fireplace is nice and warm, and there are STACKS AND STACKS OF PAPERS. Uncle Bruce then takes the next three days patiently walking you through every issue and related incident, pointing to the relevant stack of references. He has a simple way of talking, uses real life examples, and has a great beard. You leave the cabin feeling refreshed and informed... vitalized even, to act for once. "Holy crap," you realize. "This IS big. It DOES affect me, even if I only post gifs of cats." Like Uncle Bruce says, "Data is the pollution problem of the information age, and protecting privacy is the environmental challenge." This is a unique time, and we can do something about it!


Okay, so more seriously:

This is an excellent primer on the issues. Schneier lays out the issues surrounding mass-surveillance meticulously and accessibly (and with a mountain of references… more than half the book!). If you have only been slightly following the post-Snowden changes taking place in our society, and want to get up to speed quickly, this is the book for you. Schneier is not all doom and gloom, and separates out the good from the bad. He offers an effectively nuanced argument. Not only that, he goes one better than "merely" cataloging the issues and why they are important, and spends the last third of the book on recommendations for what governments, corporations and individuals can do. This book is an excellent roundup of the first year of Snowden's impact. I expect there will be follow ons.

I recommend this to all the friends, parents and relatives of every tech geek out there. This will give them the basic background so that you can have a discussion with them, and they can have a similar discussion with THEIR friends and neighbours.