Schrems, Snowden, IoT and cryptography: the hidden truths
Roma 02 November 2015
Schrems, Snowden, IoT and cryptography: the hidden truths
In this article in The Guardian the picture of the situation after the ruling of the European Court of Justice of 6 October 2015 which invalidates the "Safe Harbor".
In other words, the data collected on citizens, European institutions and companies cannot be transferred outside the European borders, unless the same protections enshrined in Europe are guaranteed ... something no small feat, considering the use and abuse protracted by the OTT ( Over the Top Companies: Facebook, Apple, Google, Miscosoft, Amazon ecc. etc. ) that systematically infringe the privacy of all subjects for profiling purposes (….commercial , at best !).
As the first act due after this ruling which invalidates the "safe Harbor", is that the Irish Privacy Officer MUST investigate in a complete and thorough manner if Maximilian Schrems' data has been abused ( as it is plausible to think and as the Austrian activist himself denounced ) or whether they have been treated with the same guarantees enshrined in European legislation.
Let's not forget that it all started THREE years ago following the revelations of Edward Snowden about the spying carried out by the NSA with the simple access to the servers of those who already spy on everything and everyone on a continuous basis : le OTT.
The thing that continues to NOT be highlighted and clearly stated ( especially in Italy…) is that both intelligence agencies and OTTs are in the same business: mass surveillance .
Not to mention without objective references, which demonstrate how politicians and institutions have been absent and guilty consenting without any action of opposition and protection of the rights of European citizens and companies, carryover i 7 principles ( source ) on which the equalization of European protections for data exported to American territory should have been guaranteed :
1) INFORMATION: individuals MUST be informed that their data is being collected and how it will be used
Eng: Notice – Individuals must be informed that their data is being collected and about how it will be used.
2) CHOICE: Individuals must have the choice to opt out of the collection and transfer of their data to third parties.
Eng: Choice – Individuals must have the option to opt out of the collection and forward transfer of the data to third parties.
3) TRANSFER TO THIRD PARTIES: Transfer of data to third parties can only take place to other organizations that follow adequate data protection principles.
Eng: Onward Transfer – Transfers of data to third parties may only occur to other organizations that follow adequate data protection principles.
4) SAFETY: Reasonable efforts must be made to avoid the loss of collected information.
Eng: Security – Reasonable efforts must be made to prevent loss of collected information.
5) Data integrity – The data must be relevant and reliable for the purpose for which it was collected.
Eng: Data Integrity – Data must be relevant and reliable for the purpose it was collected for.
6) Access – Individuals must be able to access the information held about them, and correct or delete them if they are inaccurate.
Eng: Access – Individuals must be able to access information held about them, and correct or delete it if it is inaccurate.
7) Execution – There must be effective tools to these rules.
Eng: Enforcement – There must be effective means of enforcing these rules.
How easy it is to deduce, these are all principles that on paper guarantee respect for rights and rules, but in reality they have never been applied ... and it is sufficient to note the mandatory CLAUSES imposed once an app has been downloaded on the smartphone : or agree to "grant" all required permissions ( spy on everything that happens on the mobile terminal ) or you can't use the app .... a real nauseating case of CIVIL VIOLENCE!
Who allowed this destruction?!
Where were the politicians and institutions designed to protect citizens and companies?!
This STRATEGIC absence has contributed in a fundamental way to destroying the entrepreneurship and the innovative capacity of European companies subjected to unprecedented industrial espionage while, at the same time, the same were subject to the very stringent European legislation on privacy and truly protecting the rights of users.
….A test ?!!?….in the lasts 10 years have totally disappeared European technology companies that had always been market leaders ( It is. Nokia, Ericcsson, and many other less famous but very innovative ...)
How do you compete when we are subjected to continuous civil and industrial espionage ?!
How do you build innovative entrepreneurial realities capable of creating jobs if all communications are spied on?!
We truly believe that Americans are the leaders in the technology market for their ability to innovate and create, when until 10 years ago they were and remained only pursuers often very late!?!?
The biggest and most nasty attempt to destroy the entrepreneurial and industrial capacity of Europe and of anyone who can compete, it's the cloud!
This "solution" is the best way to spy without committing a crime: appropriating the data of others by making believe that it is an economic solution, efficient and winning .... too bad it's like having a secret meeting with your collaborators and employees in a room with microphones and cameras that broadcast on the TVs of potential competitors and / or unscrupulous data merchants and ready to resell our strategic information to displace actions, products and services!
It is really time to wake up before creating a Big Brother world where we ... are the CAVIE!
The dangers are now known and the technology that is about to be launched on the market, if not well thought out and RETREASED, it risks being just the "bug" for unfair competitors, as is happening for the IoT!
If not, it will soon run for cover, we will be immersed in a "sentient" world that will spy on us to stab us in the back.
From that the dangers of a virus on a pc can damage the information collected and managed, we will move on to PHYSICAL DAMAGES and HUGE DANGERS as already demonstrated by cases of SMART cars "tampered with" while driving!!!! … .Or from “smart” bracelets that will steal information about our state of health, to insurance companies that take out health and accident policies.
( Source )
This reality on the IoT shows that without protecting data and the transfer of the same, we remain at the mercy of an infrastructure engineered to spy ( smartphones with operating systems designed to steal data and send it to the cloud of a third party ).
Even the much vaunted cryptography, what is it for if the key and the algorithm can still be obtained by those who have unlimited access to the operating system?
The mantra of the OTTs is to make us believe that outsourcing data to their servers is best , but thinking about it is like asking a family to leave the house keys to a caretaker who has the right to rummage through all our things!
Data is the digital presence of our existence and leaving it in the hands of third parties is DANGEROUS.
To be able to escape from this abnormal prejudice that undermines our security, independence and the whole democratic system, it is absolutely necessary to rethink technology and above all to know how to choose the one that grants us the benefits, without betraying us!
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