Your secrets aren't sacred
Michael OReilly
CMAJ 1999;160:1859
The threats to privacy and confidentiality in health care are well understood when it comes to the Internet, with most medical institutions now doing a good job shielding their electronic data from prying eyes. But who's protecting your personal privacy?
The Internet is a spider's web of data, and once information gets caught it remains there. Each of these individual pieces of data says very little about the user, but the electronic trail left by unsuspecting Internet users can now be assembled into a picture that reveals far more than most people realize.
Take, for example, an innocuous search engine such as Alta Vista's Canadian service, www.altavistacanada.com/. By placing a search term — such as your name — in quotation marks, the index will search the Web for data bits about you. Users may be unpleasantly surprised by the amount of information that appears. My search for "Michael OReilly" found 47 references.
Some of the information available about Internet users comes from Web servers that collect data every time you "click" on them. Sites routinely record where you are surfing from, the type of computer equipment you have and the Web software you are using. In some cases they can even learn your name and email address.
Some Web sites use "cookies" to store information about you and your browsing habits. The sites place these small files in your computer, usually without your knowledge, and access them whenever you visit a site. Most sites use them to "personalize" your visit, but these data are also being used in undesirable ways.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (www.privcom.gc.ca/) recently issued a report that said the biggest Internet privacy issue is the collection of personal information without users' knowledge. This information can be used, rented or sold to direct marketers.
Users of any of the 20 000-plus Usenet discussion groups, such as sci.med.telemedicine or can.med, are particularly open to public scrutiny. These groups are open and public, and your words can come back to haunt you. DejaNews (www.dejanews.com) is a search tool that indexes all Usenet groups dating to 1995. Anyone can search by name or email address to find out what that person's been saying. I found reference to Usenet messages I wrote in 1995.
Usenet isn't the only spot to be cautious. Email-based discussion groups, often called "lists," provide another place where researchers can gather information about you. It is easy for anyone to find out who belongs to most of these discussion groups, such as CME-L or MEDLIB-L. Since many of these "lists" also archive their discussions, be careful what you write.
Telephone and email directories have also migrated to the Net in sites such as www.canadayellowpages.com/ and canada411.sympatico.ca/). And now reverse directories are freely available, too. Services like InfoSpace (in-137.infospace.com/info/canada.htm) and Anywho (www.anywho.com) let users find a person's name and home address with only an email address. These services will even provide a map to your home.
And with that information in hand, anyone can move over to a new house-pricing service from Yahoo (realestate.yahoo.com/realestate/homevalues/address.html). This system gives the sale price of homes in 22 US states. The service has not yet expanded to Canada, although it probably will. And while it is often inaccurate, it does give prying eyes a sense of an individual's income and economic status.
You can also spend a few dollars and order complete credit reports (www.equifax.com, www.experian.com, www.consumerinfo.com/ or www.tuc.com). A personal credit history is supposed to be available only to the individual involved or legitimate organizations such as a bank or landlord. However, motivated researchers have other Internet tools at their disposal. They can move to www.1800ussearch.com/ and, for US$39.95, order a background check on anyone. The company's report promises to include your address, phone numbers, list of assets, driver's licence number, any lawsuits you've been involved in, corporate connections and even your neighbours' names.
And now, with the end of the Cold War, new commercial "spy" satellites are becoming available to anyone with a PC and a credit card. The first of these images hit the Web last year at www.terraserver.com, a Web-based user's guide of high-resolution satellite images of towns and cities around the world.
The site, developed by Microsoft, Compaq and Kodak, touts itself as the largest database of high-resolution satellite images on the Internet. It sells satellite images that resolve objects as small as 2 metres wide for as little as $10 each.
So look up and say, "Cheese!" — Michael OReilly, moreilly@cancom.net
 |
Send a letter to the editor Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction |
© 1999 Michael OReilly
