Most are shocked when I explain, usually in painful detail, just how much data is collected on you on a daily basis. And while some may opt for the normal cop-out of ‘well, I just don’t care’, you have a very serious reason to do, indeed, care. The world is a dangerous place. A hell…
Floyd Brown Big Tech Tyrants — American Partisan
It’s time to come to terms with the fact that regardless of how “off the grid” or “careful” or “Gray” you THINK you are online, you have been made. An extensive online profile exist of you that people can access. Disconcerting isn’t it? Welcome to the 21st Century.
I highly suggest you guys read the Book Future Crimes by Marc Goodman. It won’t help you sleep any better, but it will inform you of some very scary stuff going on right now.
This is why I emphasize cyber skills in a Civilian Operator’s training regimen. The Fifth Domain of Warfare is accounted for in the Military why not with the civilian?
Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!
Twitter has barred Dataminr, a service that analyzes tweets from across the globe to inform users about news events, from providing its information to US intelligence agencies, according to the Wall Street Journal. The social network has not confirmed that it cut the agencies off from the service, which claims to have informed clients about the Brussels terror attack in March 10 minutes ahead of news media, but the WSJ cites a senior US intelligence official and other people familiar with the matter.
The agencies had reportedly used Dataminr’s service for two years before Twitter decreed that it must stop, with sources saying Twitter was concerned about appearing too close to the American intelligence community. Twitter said in a statement that its “data is largely public,” specifying that the “US government may review public accounts on its own, like any user could,” but did not comment on how Dataminr had come to be selling information to intelligence agencies in the first place. The WSJ notes that Twitter has a policy banning third-party companies such as Dataminr from selling information to government bodies for the purposes of surveillance.
Dataminr — in which Twitter owns a 5 percent stake — is the only company Twitter allows to see a real-time feed of every tweet on its network and sell that information on to clients. Intelligence agencies reportedly got access to Dataminr’s product when the company received investment funding from In-Q-Tel — a venture capital firm that invests in companies whose products and services benefit the CIA and other intelligence agencies — but Twitter reportedly told Dataminr it wanted that link severed when the pilot program ended recently. In a statement provided to The Verge, Twitter said that it has “never authorized Dataminr or any third party to sell data to a government or intelligence agency for surveillance purposes.” The company said this was “a longstanding Twitter policy, not a new development.”
Read the Remainder at The Verge
I highly Recommend everybody read the book Future Crimes by Marc Goodman to get an in-depth look at how deep this cyber rabbit hole really goes. And really read those “Service Agreements” and “Privacy Statements” before you download that next free app!-SF
The term was coined in 2005 when businesses began attempting to gather data about their customers from social media sites. Today it represents a vastly larger concept: Interactive real-time exchange of data with vast populations.
As a member of the online community, whether it be via desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone you have likely taken advantage of a “free” application from the app store. It’s unlikely you’ve ever read the privacy statement or service agreements that come with those applications, but the old adage is true: There’s no such thing as a free lunch. When you agree to install your free application you are giving its owners access to all sorts of data from your device. Here’s seven cases where that is a good thing:
While you are slogging along in heavy traffic on the freeway you see cars zipping along the side streets. Would it be faster to get off the freeway? Waze knows the answer. The 100 employee Israeli company was purchased by Google for $1.5B because it queries your smartphone about its location, speed, and traffic conditions and then plots the shortest drive time to your destination. More importantly it will update you if things change.
In Japan most smartphone users will receive a warning message before the shockwaves of an earthquake reach them, giving them time to duck and cover.QuakeAlert is coming to the United States in the very near future for that same purpose.
PulsePoint is an application that receives notifications of cardiac arrest from your 911 center and then finds trained citizens nearby to help before EMS can arrive.
Several applications are in development to crowdsource the location of an active shooter. Users in proximity of a shooting event rarely know which way to run or if they should hide. Constant updates from phones registering the sound of gunshots or user inputs will improve survivability as well as lead law enforcement to the shooter.
Want to know the weather on the ground right now? We all know the weather apps are great but always off a little bit. What if your phone was actively reporting temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure? Now imagine the forecasting that could be done by meteorologists who could access the 200 million dispersed weather sensors in real time.
Twenty years ago if you wanted to raise money for a cause, or a project you were forced to front the money yourself, find a financial backer, or slog through venture capital firms. Today great ideas can be funded through sites like GoFundMe or Indigogo where small contributions from people who share your vision make ideas come to life.
Did you know that Uber ran a one day experiment delivering nurses and flu shots with their cars? Crowdsourcing healthcare resources is proving effective at delivering better information, better options, and better care to users.Medable is just one application directed at improving a cancer patient’s experience. Any cancer patient knows that researching the right providers and various treatment options takes time and energy that often isn’t there. Imagine connecting to the collective resources and experiences of ALL the patients who have been on that same road you are starting down.
Read the Original Article at Medium
