Is data protection the new Political correctness

rex-x

In the last few years data protection seems to have just weaseled its way into everything There is thread in motors at the moment about people not wanting to answer garda/social welfare inspector questions if someone else is present.
Do many people actually care? It seems like more generation snowflake stuff almost. The only data I want kept secret really is my passwords and bank details etc. Wages, medical records, social welfare information, grades and the likes it really doesn't matter who has access to it to me. Is it time for a more liberal approach perhaps?

tomwaterford

rex-x wrote: »

In the last few years data protection seems to have just weaseled its way into everything There is thread in motors at the moment about people not wanting to answer garda/social welfare inspector questions if someone else is present.
Do many people actually care? It seems like more generation snowflake stuff almost. The only data I want kept secret really is my passwords and bank details etc. Wages, medical records, social welfare information, grades and the likes it really doesn't matter who has access to it to me. Is it time for a more liberal approach perhaps?

All this while on posting on an anonumus forum

Is it politically correct to drop "snowflake" into every criticism of everything these days?

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

kinda agree with ya OP

there was a post on reddit ireland before xmas of a drunk lad in Cork píssing on the pavement right beside some girls dining alfresco. one of the girls took a picture and posted it and some of the reddit comments were warning her to take it down as it's a breach of the data protection laws and yer mans privacy!

Your Face

If I can use something to my advantage, I will.

stimpson

rex-x wrote: »

Wages, medical records, social welfare information, grades and the likes it really doesn't matter who has access to it to me.

Post a scan of your payslip then.

whoopsadoodles

Wait til May 2018. The EU's new GDPR comes into play and it's very bloody strict.

georgiecasey

georgiecasey wrote: »

kinda agree with ya OP

there was a post on reddit ireland before xmas of a drunk lad in Cork píssing on the pavement right beside some girls dining alfresco. one of the girls took a picture and posted it and some of the reddit comments were warning her to take it down as it's a breach of the data protection laws and yer mans privacy!

Well it is his IP (intellectual property)

hungry hypno toad

NoDrama wrote: »

Well it is his IP (intellectual property)

It wasn't IP Freely by any chance?

namloc1980

georgiecasey wrote: »

kinda agree with ya OP

there was a post on reddit ireland before xmas of a drunk lad in Cork píssing on the pavement right beside some girls dining alfresco. one of the girls took a picture and posted it and some of the reddit comments were warning her to take it down as it's a breach of the data protection laws and yer mans privacy!

How is that a data protection beach?

Atlantic Dawn

Post up a scan of your credit card statement, phone records and internet history.

Badly Drunk Boy

georgiecasey wrote: »

kinda agree with ya OP

there was a post on reddit ireland before xmas of a drunk lad in Cork píssing on the pavement right beside some girls dining alfresco. one of the girls took a picture and posted it and some of the reddit comments were warning her to take it down as it's a breach of the data protection laws and yer mans privacy!

And if you witness a crime, don't give any details to the Gardaí about the criminal because it's a breach of the data protection laws.

stimpson wrote: »

Post a scan of your payslip then.

Remember when Jeremy Clarkson printed his bank details in his newspaper column (I think) to try to make the point that his money would be safe and that identity theft wasn't real? His account was hacked and £500 given to the British Diabetic Association. :pac:

jimgoose

"Is data protection the new Political correctness"?? A Garda wouldn't ask me dat!! :pac:

Seriously, anyone who doesn't apprehend that personal information of all sorts is Serious muhfuh'n Bidnit these days is a tad naive, to put it mildly.

Samaris

Well, if people really cared about their identity protection online, Facebook wouldn't exist. It is amazing how much information is given freely to that. Not to mention all those games that people unthinkingly play where they answer questions on the sort of topics suggested to build passwords and privacy questions around - ever played the porn name generator game? It's been around since Bebo and probably MySpace. Your first pet's name, the name of the street you first lived on. Two very common suggestions for your back-up question. Ever had to answer a question in a quiz that asked where you were born? Your favourite colour? How about ones that get your date of birth with a game where you get a certain adjective for year, another for month and day, and then people write in the comments how they're a three-horned purple rhinocerous. Congrats, you've just given away another personal piece of identifying information that could make your accounts easier to get into in the future.

This isn't really about personal privacy, it's more a reflection on a shrinking trust for governmental authorities and law enforcement authorities.

The connection to "political correctness" doesn't actually make sense. Even taking the broadest sweeps at what people seem to think it is, it doesn't fit. Although, like "bias", "politically correct" as a term has lost all meaning in the last year or so anyway.

uck51js9zml2yt

NoDrama wrote: »

Well it is his IP (intellectual property)

You assume he has an intellect and it's not mortgaged to the hilt:)

As others have said. People are niaive to think they don't have to be careful with their information.

Elemonator

With the information you wouldn't mind anyone having access to, it wouldn't be hard to steal your identity.

AudreyHepburn

You'd have to be seriously naive to think protecting your personal information isn't of the utmost importance and I can absolutely understand why big organisations for example won't talk to any one but their client about that client's file.

That being said you can be too guarded with your information at times - I sometimes feel I am pulling teeth trying to get information from people to give them quotes.

I am not asking the questions I am asking for fun or to be nosy - if I ask you something it's because the answer you give me has a huge bearing on what price I get back for you or indeed whether or not I can quote you at all.

TheChizler

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

Remember when Jeremy Clarkson printed his bank details in his newspaper column (I think) to try to make the point that his money would be safe and that identity theft wasn't real? His account was hacked and £500 given to the British Diabetic Association. :pac:

If by hacked you mean the details were written down on a form for a direct debit donation.

Dravokivich

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

And if you witness a crime, don't give any details to the Gardaí about the criminal because it's a breach of the data protection laws.

That's not a data protection issue.

It's about controlling who has information about you that should not be available to anyone else.

Not a witness statement.

With regards to the OP. I think there is too much locked up with regards to Data Protection. For example I'd expect a doctor to be able to access my medical records with little bureaucracy. But I don't feel we should be open, or inviting to be open about our data.

Roger Hassenforder

There are strict guidelines and regulations on the protection of personal data, but think it is being used as an excuse not to do something, or make something unnecessarily difficult for someone else.

Ri_Nollaig

TheChizler wrote: »

If by hacked you mean the details were written down on a form for a direct debit donation.

That is still "hacked" by the way, they exploited the information he [freely] gave. The most successful way to hack into a system is simply ringing up someone and just asking for their username/password, i.e. social engineering.

"hacking" doesn't necessarily mean sitting infront of a black and green terminal and writing random codes.

jimgoose

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

That is still "hacked" by the way, they exploited the information he [freely] gave. The most successful way to hack into a system is simply ringing up someone and just asking for their username/password, i.e. social engineering.

"hacking" doesn't necessarily mean sitting infront of a black and green terminal and writing random codes.

No it isn't, and indeed it doesn't. For reference, this is a "Hack":

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-harvard-stadium-pigeon-prank-that-pavlov-would-be-proud-of

This is a "Crack":

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/14/yahoo-hack-security-of-one-billion-accounts-breached

And yes, I know the Guardian uses the word "hack" here - I wouldn't expect them to know what it means either. :pac:

annascott

I was organising a charity event last year and sent information by email to the twelve people who were going to work together on the project. One lady freaked out and left because the twelve email addresses were visible on the message.
Some people are paranoid and/or awkward just for the hell of it.

Captain_Crash

Do you ever see people put pictures of their passport with a boarding card sticking out beside a pint in the airport... #vegasherewecome ect...

Anyone with a basic grasp of computers can quite easily get into their booking using just the bar code number and make whatever changes they want. If they get there before the flight has been boarded they can even cancel the whole booking and the holiday is over.

Ri_Nollaig

jimgoose wrote: »

No it isn't, and indeed it doesn't. For reference, this is a "Hack":

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-harvard-stadium-pigeon-prank-that-pavlov-would-be-proud-of

This is a "Crack":

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/14/yahoo-hack-security-of-one-billion-accounts-breached

And yes, I know the Guardian uses the word "hack" here - I wouldn't expect them to know what it means either. :pac:

I stand corrected.

I still think that hack/cracking or any method to bypass security [or the lack of] is often just simple naivety towards it.

Some parts of the Data Protection are a bit awkward at times. The example of the doctor being unable to access your entire medical history for starters. But overall its definitely for the best that we have this.

thelad95

I worked in a call centre for a certain telecommunications provider and the amount of employees who were sacked for seemingly innocent data breaches would amaze you.

In fact, data protection was taken so seriously that having your phone visible while on the 'floor' was considered an act of gross misconduct.

It's quite funny though because at said provider, if customers wanted to add to their package, they could so online without any verification as to who was doing it but if they wanted to cancel, they weren't able to do so online, the reason being that 'we have to verify that it is the account holder making this action'.

Very soul destroying having to explain that too customers when you know yourself that it's pure hogwash.

Glenster

rex-x wrote: »

In the last few years data protection seems to have just weaseled its way into everything There is thread in motors at the moment about people not wanting to answer garda/social welfare inspector questions if someone else is present.

I'm not sure if its data protection to not want to tell some randomer your business.

Data protection is making sure the info you give to one person isn't given to another person.

MrPudding

rex-x wrote: »

In the last few years data protection seems to have just weaseled its way into everything There is thread in motors at the moment about people not wanting to answer garda/social welfare inspector questions if someone else is present.
Do many people actually care? It seems like more generation snowflake stuff almost. The only data I want kept secret really is my passwords and bank details etc. Wages, medical records, social welfare information, grades and the likes it really doesn't matter who has access to it to me. Is it time for a more liberal approach perhaps?

Why does their need to be a more liberal approach? The approach at the moment is that the rules are quite strick, and as pointed out by another poster, about to get stricter. That does not stop you from sharing whatever you want. That is the beauty of data protection legislation. It is your information, your data, if you want to give it to all and sundry for them to do whatever they want with it, then you can. As with most things in life, there is a spectrum of attitude. You appear to want only the minimum of protection, personally, I am a little further up the "don't want to share" end of the spectrum, but some people are way beyond me. If we legislated for what you are happy with then a significant proportion of people would not be happy.

So the legislation is fairly tight people's data is [supposed to be] protected, but they have the option to opt out of that protection. To do it the other way round wouldn't really work, kind of closing the barn after the horse has already bolted, so to speak.

annascott wrote: »

I was organising a charity event last year and sent information by email to the twelve people who were going to work together on the project. One lady freaked out and left because the twelve email addresses were visible on the message.
Some people are paranoid and/or awkward just for the hell of it.

Whatever you might think about it, unless all the recipients consented to their email address being shared, then this was likely a breach of data protection legislation. To be honest, it irritates me too. It is a breach, but I personally think it shows a lack of professionalism.

MrP

Capt'n Midnight

stimpson wrote: »

Post a scan of your payslip then.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7174760.stm

[Jeremy] Clarkson published details of his Barclays account in the Sun newspaper, including his account number and sort code. He even told people how to find out his address.

"All you'll be able to do with them is put money into my account. Not take it out. Honestly, I've never known such a palaver about nothing," he told readers.

But he was proved wrong, as the 47-year-old wrote in his Sunday Times column.

"I opened my bank statement this morning to find out that someone has set up a direct debit which automatically takes £500 from my account," he said.

"The bank cannot find out who did this because of the Data Protection Act and they cannot stop it from happening again.

Capt'n Midnight

https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/why-metadata-matters

They know you called the suicide prevention hotline from the Golden Gate Bridge. But the topic of the call remains a secret.
...
They know you got an email from an HIV testing service, then called your doctor, then visited an HIV support group website in the same hour. But they don't know what was in the email or what you talked about on the phone.
...
They know you called a gynecologist, spoke for a half hour, and then searched online for the local abortion clinic’s number later that day. But nobody knows what you spoke about.

Snapchat has 235 million users per month. Based on the recent flotation figure out how much the data on each user is worth.

http://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2016/11/16/snapchat-valued-at-e20bn-because-of-course-it-is/

The fact that these big internet companies supposedly have complete access to us would suggest that we need tighter data protection more than ever.

My biggest fear isn't what my 'correct; data shows about me, its what my 'incorrect data' shows about me or how either can be extrapolated from either.

Fact: I'm a Pen Tester and work with exploits and I frequent hacker forums
Fact: Im interested in Politics
Fact: I was an army reservist(RDF) and Im interested in guns and shooting.

Incorrect extrapolations from factual evidence: Browser history shows hacking forums, political documents and searches for firearms. Result: Possible Enemy of the state.

Incorrect Fact: Out of work for 4 years(I emmigrated for 4 years)
Incorrect Fact: Holds multiple off shore bank accounts(Well duh!, I emmigrated)
Incorrect fact: Travelled in and out of the country multiple times while unemployed but not drawing dole(I emmigrated and came home from time to time)

Incorrect extrapolation from incorrect evidence: Possible international terrorist and/or drugs dealer. Result: Pick him up at earliest convenience.

Data Protection laws also enable you to change what data is held by organisations to reflect the true form or to correct mistakes.

I've worked in areas where data protection is the number one issue for audit, managerial kpi, the data commissioner was on our neck of a person's name went in an email to the incorrect dept (all possible recipients had signed the standard non disclosures etc)

I guarantee that if the end customer had known the balance of actual risk of *personal and sensitive data* (which as a ratio of data that the new data protection industry insists we should be sh1tting ourselves over is actually f*** all imo) versus the delay, cost and absolute clusterf***ing inefficiency that was built into every time step of all of our processes they would have been outraged.

The dealings I have seen with the DPC would make you despair for common sense and proportionality. A data breach is held to be equal whether it's one person's ppsn going to the wrong doctor or the bank details of five hundred people being sent to an office called 'cybercrimes INC'. I don't know if their hands are tied by the legislation but as a working office over a newish area they go about it in the worst possible way as far as I'm concerned.

So to answer the OP, yep. Data protection is the new whatever.

If I had to compare it to anything, maybe the Y2K is an apt area. Scare everyone regardless of actual threat or ease of reasonable safeguard steps, shake the money tree good and hard, a great gig for those involved.

hatrickpatrick

One only needs to consider the case of Sgt Maurice McCabe to understand why data protection is so important. Or indeed the case of Mick Wallace and Alan Shatter.

It's all very well for most of us posting in this thread not to care - most of us aren't politicians, journalists, whistleblowers, or otherwise a threat to the establishment. Once you become such a threat, that's when everything from your secret sexual fetishes to any interactions with mental health care or addiction counselling go from being mundane facts about your life to tools of discrediting and censorship.