InfoWorld - Security Adviser: Why we must defend our last shred of privacy

The Apple encryption saga is not about a single phone. We've already lost more privacy than we realize -- and we can't afford to lose more

By Roger A. Grimes
Feb 23, 2016

It's not only Apple. Hundreds of technology companies large and small are engaged in a historic battle to determine how much access governments can have to your personal information. This includes Google, Microsoft, and nearly every technology company that has significantly impacted your life over the last two decades.

The fight for personal privacy versus the state's right to know has been a battle for millennia. Aristotle made the key distinction between the public and private spheres thousands of years ago. Benjamin Franklin is famously quoted by privacy advocates for saying, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Governments have always tried to erode personal privacy. They think that in order to protect the state and its citizens, the veil of personal privacy should be pulled back whenever necessary.

I understand the impulse to eliminate privacy protections. At least half of my friends and acquaintances -- even my wife -- can't understand my passion for the topic. They say they aren't doing anything illegal and those who marshal legal arguments against the government invading privacy must be hiding something.

So let me state some of the concerns that privacy advocates have against an even more intrusive government and see if it persuades you one way or the other.

Click the URL above to read the full article