[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
ISPs' information on users
--- begin forwarded text
X-Sender: [email protected]
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 08:57:01 -0400
To: [email protected]
From: Rodney Thayer <[email protected]>
Subject: ISPs' information on users
Sender: [email protected]
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: Rodney Thayer <[email protected]>
Something to think about before any of us start selling Ketchup on-line via
E-cash...
>Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 23:53:02 -0400
>From: [email protected] (Darius Thabit)
>Subject: ISPs' information on users
>Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 01:18:59 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Phil Agre <[email protected]>
>
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE).
>Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below.
>You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use
>the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions
>for (un)subscribing, send an empty message to [email protected]
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>
>Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 19:16:19 +0200
>From: [email protected] (Steven Carlson)
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: (HOL-A) It's a Brave Old World
>
> ------------------------------
> Brave Old World:
> Reflections on Europe in the Digital Age
> by Steven Carlson; 20 Sep 1996
> ------------------------------
>
> ** So Much Fuss About A Bottle Of Ketchup
>
> Hungarian police recently sent a fax around to the local Internet
> service providers (ISPs) asking them to provide lists of their users
> in Esztergom, a small town outside of Budapest. It seems somebody
> had planted a bomb in a bottle of ketchup. Since everyone knows you
> can download bomb-making instructions from the Internet, the police
> figured they should investigate the local users. No, I'm not making
> this up.
>
> What's more, nearly every local ISP gave the police this information.
> Fortunately my company has no users in Esztergom and so that's what we
> told the police. We got off lucky. Believe me, as much as might want
> to make a stand for privacy of information my company is NOT eager to
> do battle with the Hungarian authorities.
>
> But that's what it might take. Because if the Hungarian police really
> understood the Internet they could have asked for even more. For
> example, it would only take a few keystrokes to forward a users' mail
> to the authorities. The police might also have asked for old email,
> since many ISPs back this up routinely.
>
> But that's not all. Some ISPs run caching servers, machines that store
> frequently-viewed webpages so that users access them locally rather
> than across the net. An ISP's caching server could give the police a
> profile of what web pages the users have been browsing.
>
> I'm not trying to scare anyone. My point is that sharing information
> on the Internet is a two-way street. Computers keep extensive records.
> Using the Internet often means you leave a trail behind you. This is
> part of life in the digital age.
>
> This "electronic trail" is not unique to the Internet. Every time you
> use a credit card you create a record in several computers. Other
> computers may be storing information about you such as your medical
> history, driving record, tax filings and so on. The more we rely on
> computers to manage our affairs, the more information that may be "out
> there." This means citizens in the digital age should know their
> rights.
>
> Many governments already have laws to protect private information. For
> example, the US has many laws restricting access to sensitive
> information such as medical and credit records. You might be surprised
> to know Hungary passed a law in 1991 to prevent misuse of information
> associated with the national identity card.
>
> Yet the growth of new technologies is outpacing legislation. For
> example, Holland and other countries are experimenting with "smart
> road" systems that can identify the licence number of a moving car for
> purposes of toll collection. Cellular phones and satellite navigation
> systems can report the locations of their users. It's not difficult to
> imagine how these and other technologies could be abused.
>
> Of course, now you know that even your local Internet provider has
> access to some rather sensitive information about you. This leads me
> to ask: what sort of service is your Internet provider actually
> offering?
>
> When it comes down to it, your ISP is like your doctor, your lawyer,
> your accountant or your psychiatrist. Each of these professionals
> deals with your data; each profession is governed by a code of ethics,
> written or implicit. Moreover these limits are codified in law. If
> your accountant allowed your competitors to read the company books,
> you could take him to court.
>
> Similarly, your Internet provider has an implicit duty to protect the
> privacy of your communication. Most professionals in my industry
> recognize this. I know most of the people working in Hungarian
> Internet and I doubt very much that they are reading your mail or
> mine. But they don't know where they stand in the eyes of the law.
>
> Internet professionals should certainly assist the police in a
> legitimate investigation. But should every Internet user in Esztergom
> be investigated just because they could (theoretically) find
> bomb-making information on the Internet?
>
> To hammer that point home a local Internet-based magazine has
> published, in Hungarian, complete bomb-making instructions:
> <http://www.idg.hu/internetto/cyber/special/dinamit.htm>. In other
> words, if you've read this far you may be the subject of a future
> investigation. Have a nice day!
>
>
>
> ** Further Links:
>
> The Electronic Frontier Foundation
> <http://www.eff.org>
> The International Electronic Rights Server
> <http://www.privacy.org>
> The Electronic Privacy Information Center
> <http://www.epic.org>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Copyright (c) 1996. Permission granted to redistribute this article in
> electronic form for non-profit purposes only. My byline and this message
> must remain intact. Contact me <[email protected]> for reprint rights.
>-----------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
--- from Rodney Thayer <[email protected]> +1 617 332 7292 ---
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To unsubscribe from this list, send a letter to: [email protected]
In the body of the message, write: unsubscribe dcsb
Or, to subscribe, write: subscribe dcsb
If you have questions, write to me at [email protected]
--- end forwarded text
-----------------
Robert Hettinga ([email protected])
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"'Bart Bucks' are not legal tender."
-- Punishment, 100 times on a chalkboard,
for Bart Simpson
The e$ Home Page: http://www.vmeng.com/rah/