Privacy

[bobhope]

I never understand why people who post on internet forums get so wound up about privacy. snaw has nearly 4000 posts and I bet there are massive amounts of personal data there and I would doubt this is the only forum he posts on.

I never understand why people freely give out their details on say Facebook - Maybe I'm just part of the older generation ow. I reckon it's an even split of the people I spoken to about Facebook: either they're horrified about the data protection ramifications or they have no idea why you'd be concerned.

[snaw]

Give me an example of where information held by the state infringes on your freedom?

OK. Every phone call I make. Every email I send. Any communication I make via social networking sites. CCTV, etc. Where does it end - insurance companies accessing DNA databases to see who's more risky (Hey, few weeks back it was unveiled that some workers were secretly blacklisted off construction companies because of past 'union' behaviour).

And again, you're completely and utterly missing the point.

Here's a story for you. I'm friends with two of the brothers of one of the Natwest Three. Guilty of committing wire fraud, basically a financial white collar crime, but no one on the UK ever wanted to charge them. A few years back we brought in a law to make it easier to extradite suspected terrorists to the US for prosecution. guess what - those laws were used to extradite the Natwest three.

We might give up freedoms for noble purposes (And I don't buy it one bit, but that's the idea behind it), but in time those things get abused.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

I never understand why people freely give out their details on say Facebook - Maybe I'm just part of the older generation ow. I reckon it's an even split of the people I spoken to about Facebook: either they're horrified about the data protection ramifications or they have no idea why you'd be concerned.

I do have a facebook account but it has none of my actual details on it - so I totally agree.

Also I'm 100% with Snaw and the counter argument seems very weak "your data is out there anyhow so why not just let any small time government twonk look at it and have a poke around to see if you've been doing stuff they don't like?"

[minestrone]

You're missing the point - Slip-ups aside, whatever Snaw or anyone reveals about themselves in a forum is their choice.

So SNAW is ok with telling us that he broke a collar bone in Canada a few years ago on a public site which probably gets a good few million hits a year, but is upset that the NHS wants to put it on a central encrypted server only accessible to UK trained health care professionals when he seeks treatment?

FFS, do you know how stupid that sounds?

[EternalOptimist]

I do have a facebook account but it has none of my actual details on it - so I totally agree.

Also I'm 100% with Snaw and the counter argument seems very weak "your data is out there anyhow so why not just let any small time government twonk look at it and have a poke around to see if you've been doing stuff they don't like?"

Maybe we should have a poll, I'm sure there must be a fair few database experts here who have had a quick shifty to see if there is anything juicy on people they know.

I was building a contacts db for a recruitment agency about ten years ago. I was testing the search engine so I naturally put a test record in with my own details. When I tested the address stuff I found that another contractor lived a few streets away , I learned quite a bit about him.
He got a bit of a shock when we passed in the street 'Hi Dave' - he looked puzzled.
Next week, 'Hi Dave' 'er Hi'
next week , 'Hi Dave', 'er Hi, look do I know you ?'
'Yeah, you still doing Oracle and forms stuff ?' 'er yeah'

Strung the poor guy along for ages before I told him.

[snaw]

So SNAW is ok with telling us that he broke a collar bone in Canada a few years ago on a public site which probably gets a good few million hits a year, but is upset that the NHS wants to put it on a central encrypted server only accessible to UK trained health care professionals when he seeks treatment?

FFS, do you know how stupid that sounds?

Actually, yeah I'm fine with it. I volunteered that information quite freely. Nothng dumb about it at all. Not quite sure how that supports your argument.

If some company, or indeed the government,is prepared to go to the trouble of trawling this website to collate information on me, then what makes you think they wouldn't go to the same trouble to collate information on me via centralised databases?

And essentially it's a privacy issue. I might well put up info about breaking a collarbone snowboarding, but equally there are many things which I would never put out in the public domain about my personal life, but which I would have no choice about in going into a centralised database. It's called choice, or lack of.

And btw, we're not just talking about an NHS databases now, and please FFS leave off the trained health professional garbage, we're not that naive and I worked for an NHS trust many years ago and know exactly who you're talking about.

I don't want the government collecting the volume of info they're collecting on me. I don't trust them to safeguard it. I don't trust them, or future governments, or public bodies or individuals in those bodies not to abuse it, lose it, sell it, or just be plain incompetent with it (And how much does it cost and for what real benefit I might add).

[Moscow Mule]

So SNAW is ok with telling us that he broke a collar bone in Canada a few years ago on a public site which probably gets a good few million hits a year, but is upset that the NHS wants to put it on a central encrypted server only accessible to UK trained health care professionals when he seeks treatment?

FFS, do you know how stupid that sounds?

It doesn't sound stupid when you consider what the government will try to do with that information in 5-10 years time.

You haven't addressed the sale of data issue (basically the government can't be trusted with this information).

Also, can you define "UK trained health care professionals"?

Are all of them going to get training on how snooping on people you're not treating is naughty (as naughty as poking around the PNC without reason) and are there going to be controls in place to monitor access?

I expect all of this "operational" security will fall by the wayside and access to the DB will be a free as you like for any vindictive health care professional within a couple of years.

That said, I can see the benefit of an NHS DB. What I can't see the benefit of is a DB storing all of my emails and web access. I know, "I've got nothing to fear if I've got nothing to hide" well **** that. My email is as private as a letter sent by the Royal Mail.

[minestrone]

Here's a story for you. I'm friends with two of the brothers of one of the Natwest Three. Guilty of committing wire fraud, basically a financial white collar crime, but no one on the UK ever wanted to charge them. A few years back we brought in a law to make it easier to extradite suspected terrorists to the US for prosecution. guess what - those laws were used to extradite the Natwest three.

With that information alone it would be very easy to find your name now, I would simply research on the web which one has 2 brothers. I would then pay a PI to chin one and do a "do you not remember me, I was in your class at school, I was speaking to your pall, aye the one that works in London now with computers, can't remember his name" act.

I am going to guess that as you grew up in the West of Scotland, you only really know 2 brothers if you went to School or grew up near them and I know one came from Pollok, am I getting warm?

You are hemorrhaging information to the entire world here.

[BrilloPad]

You don't hear David Cameron speaking up against it do you?

They're all as bad as one another.

WHS

[snaw]

With that information alone it would be very easy to find your name now, I would simply research on the web which one has 2 brothers. I would then pay a PI to chin one and do a "do you not remember me, I was in your class at school, I was speaking to your pall, aye the one that works in London now with computers, can't remember his name" act.

I am going to guess that as you grew up in the West of Scotland, you only really know 2 brothers if you went to School or grew up near them and I know one came from Pollok, am I getting warm?

You are hemorrhaging information to the entire world here.

Here's a clue. They both live in Sydney, Australia. So did I

You really don't get it, do you?

You're kind of that perfect example of some IT guys I come across from time to time, all about the technology and completely clueless to the bigger picture.