10 | Business World Magazine |
June 2013
Edward Snowden, the former technical contrac-
tor to the National Security Agency and Central
Intelligence Agency, has confirmed what conspir-
acy theorists have long proclaimed - Big Brother
is eavesdropping on our every phone call as well as
our practices Online, with seeming support from
the very companies entrusted (and paid) to provide
Internet and telecommunication services. Those
revelations may not compel concern for some, yet
un-nerve others. Does it matter that next time one
phones a friend to denigrate Obamacare and ex-
press intent to go Jihad on the neighbor’s dog (in
the same sentence), that an alarm goes off some-
where at the NSA? Should we really be concerned
that someone is actually monitoring the frequency
of our online fascinations with, say, torsion physics
or, maybe, that involving members of the girls’ vol-
leyball team at Central Connecticut State Univer-
sity (for their athleticism!) – should we care exactly
who knows that?
In all seriousness, the implications should
prompt consideration for a number of profession-
als, certainly not limited to journalists wanting to
protect a source or attorney or doctor seeking to se-
cure their client’s rights to confidentiality. For any-
one who puts a priority on privacy, it may be dif-
OVERHEARD
UNDER-PROTECTED
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