Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cyber Security in the Digital Age
A former Secretary of Homeland Security examines our outdated laws regarding the protection of personal information, and the pressing need for change.
 
Nothing undermines our freedom more than losing control of information about ourselves. And yet, as daily events underscore, we are ever more vulnerable to cyber-attack.

In this bracing book, Michael Chertoff makes clear that our laws and policies surrounding the protection of personal information, written for an earlier time, are long overdue for a complete overhaul. On the one hand, the collection of data—more widespread by business than by government, and impossible to stop—should be facilitated as an ultimate protection for society. On the other, standards under which information can be inspected, analyzed, or used must be significantly tightened. In offering his compelling call for action, Chertoff argues that what is at stake is not so much the simple loss of privacy, which is almost impossible to protect, but of individual autonomy—the ability to make personal choices free of manipulation or coercion.
 
Offering vivid stories over many decades that illuminate the three periods of data gathering we have experienced, Chertoff explains the complex legalities surrounding issues of data collection and dissemination today, and charts a path that balances the needs of government, business, and individuals alike.
 
“Surveys the brave new world of data collection and analysis…The world of data as illuminated here would have scared George Orwell.”―Kirkus Reviews
 
“Chertoff has a unique perspective on data security and its implications for citizen rights as he looks at the history of and changes in privacy laws since the founding of the U.S.”—Booklist
1127407087
Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cyber Security in the Digital Age
A former Secretary of Homeland Security examines our outdated laws regarding the protection of personal information, and the pressing need for change.
 
Nothing undermines our freedom more than losing control of information about ourselves. And yet, as daily events underscore, we are ever more vulnerable to cyber-attack.

In this bracing book, Michael Chertoff makes clear that our laws and policies surrounding the protection of personal information, written for an earlier time, are long overdue for a complete overhaul. On the one hand, the collection of data—more widespread by business than by government, and impossible to stop—should be facilitated as an ultimate protection for society. On the other, standards under which information can be inspected, analyzed, or used must be significantly tightened. In offering his compelling call for action, Chertoff argues that what is at stake is not so much the simple loss of privacy, which is almost impossible to protect, but of individual autonomy—the ability to make personal choices free of manipulation or coercion.
 
Offering vivid stories over many decades that illuminate the three periods of data gathering we have experienced, Chertoff explains the complex legalities surrounding issues of data collection and dissemination today, and charts a path that balances the needs of government, business, and individuals alike.
 
“Surveys the brave new world of data collection and analysis…The world of data as illuminated here would have scared George Orwell.”―Kirkus Reviews
 
“Chertoff has a unique perspective on data security and its implications for citizen rights as he looks at the history of and changes in privacy laws since the founding of the U.S.”—Booklist
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Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cyber Security in the Digital Age

Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cyber Security in the Digital Age

by Michael Chertoff
Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cyber Security in the Digital Age

Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cyber Security in the Digital Age

by Michael Chertoff

eBook

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Overview

A former Secretary of Homeland Security examines our outdated laws regarding the protection of personal information, and the pressing need for change.
 
Nothing undermines our freedom more than losing control of information about ourselves. And yet, as daily events underscore, we are ever more vulnerable to cyber-attack.

In this bracing book, Michael Chertoff makes clear that our laws and policies surrounding the protection of personal information, written for an earlier time, are long overdue for a complete overhaul. On the one hand, the collection of data—more widespread by business than by government, and impossible to stop—should be facilitated as an ultimate protection for society. On the other, standards under which information can be inspected, analyzed, or used must be significantly tightened. In offering his compelling call for action, Chertoff argues that what is at stake is not so much the simple loss of privacy, which is almost impossible to protect, but of individual autonomy—the ability to make personal choices free of manipulation or coercion.
 
Offering vivid stories over many decades that illuminate the three periods of data gathering we have experienced, Chertoff explains the complex legalities surrounding issues of data collection and dissemination today, and charts a path that balances the needs of government, business, and individuals alike.
 
“Surveys the brave new world of data collection and analysis…The world of data as illuminated here would have scared George Orwell.”―Kirkus Reviews
 
“Chertoff has a unique perspective on data security and its implications for citizen rights as he looks at the history of and changes in privacy laws since the founding of the U.S.”—Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780802165787
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date: 05/14/2020
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 288
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Michael Chertoff was the second Secretary of Homeland Security from 20052009. He previously served at a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, as Assistant US Attorney General, and as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Today he is Executive Chairman and cofounder of The Chertoff Group, a security consulting company, and senior of counsel to the firm of Covington and Burling.

Read an Excerpt

In our world of big data, we want to give the government the appropriate legal authority to provide security while maintaining a sufficient scope of privacy and autonomy necessary for our human dignity. Citizens seek to enjoy the convenience and efficiency of modern commercial data-driven technology without putting their security and freedom at risk.

With its ability to generate and review massive amounts of data, today’s technology numbs society, creating social acceptance for our loss of privacy. Given the ease with which emails, telephone metadata, and other previously private information are captured by others, Americans have been surrendering control over electronic privacy. Today’s legal framework attempts to protect the right to privacy under a technology assumption that is decades old. We have come to accept the fact that our emails may be read and have become accustomed to our data being collected and used by others.

If privacy means the ability to hide or shield our actions and thoughts from prying eyes, that privacy ship has sailed. The volume of data we generate, and the analytic power that can be applied against that data, mean that few of us can remain opaque. I argue that the focus of our concern should shift to protecting our autonomy. We should maintain some degree of ownership and control over the data that we generate or that relates to us.

What is at stake is individual autonomy—the right to make the personal choices that effect our values and our destiny. A person can be manipulated and coerced many ways, but the most ominous involve the pressure that comes with constant, ongoing surveillance of our actions.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Big Data Is Watching You 1

1 What Is the Internet and How Did It Change Data? 25

2 How Did Law and Policy Evolve to Address Data 1.0 and 2.0? 56

3 Data 3.0 and the Challenges of Privacy and Security 76

4 Reconfiguring Privacy and Security in the Data 3.0 Universe 101

5 Data 3.0 and Controls on Private Sector Use of Data 138

6 Data 3.0 and Sovereignty: A Question of Conflict of Laws 161

7 Cyber Warfare: Deterrence and Response 172

Conclusion: Meeting the Challenge of Data 3.0: Recommendations for Law and Policy 199

Acknowledgments 209

Notes 213

Further Reading 241

Index 243

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