Pete writes “The Register, interesting as always, has this to say about databases and privacy,
“Misuse of database information by insiders happens everyday, and there’s little we can do about it.
Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodies?
What’s bothering me now? It’s the security and privacy stories that don’t make major headlines, and recently I stumbled across two that stuck with me. The first only came my way when the Drudge Report picked it up. A woman in Florida wrote some rather unflattering remarks about a local sheriff in the newspaper. She was then caught off guard after receiving a letter at home from the sheriff himself, using her full name. Inquiries from reporters revealed the fact that the sheriff and his staff had used Florida’s driving records system to access personal information about the lady after seeing the letter in the newspaper.”
To find out the other incident you’ll have to read on…”
This story is an important example of why…
creating larger and larger cross-linked databases whether by the private sector or by gov’t will create more problems than they will solve. At least private companies can be sued over inappropriately accessed information. With vast new cloaks of national security, we may never know the full extent of information gathered on us Americans.