The Power of Privacy – documentary film

Summary

This documentary explores the evolution of privacy in the digital age, examining how technology has transformed our concept of personal space and security. From the invention of the chimney to the internet's open data, the film investigates the implications of our growing digital footprint. The host undergoes various challenges, including being stalked, hacked, and living in a smart home, to understand privacy in the 21st century. The script also discusses the importance of proactive data management and the need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect personal and corporate information.

Takeaways

• 🔒 Digital privacy is often overlooked until a significant breach occurs, yet our increasingly connected world necessitates a reevaluation of how we approach privacy.
• 🏠 Historically, privacy evolved from communal living spaces to personal rooms with the advent of the chimney, reflecting a growing appreciation for personal space and confidentiality.
• 📸 The right to privacy was legally established in the late 1800s after intrusive photographs of high society were published without consent.
• 📱 Rapid advancements in technology have outpaced our legal and societal understanding of privacy, particularly with devices that can broadcast personal information globally.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Professional digital detectives can gather extensive personal information from publicly available online sources, highlighting the extent of our digital footprint.
• 🌐 Geographic disparities in privacy awareness and security measures exist, with regions like the Middle East lagging behind in information security compared to Europe or the US.
• 💻 Hacking demonstrations reveal how easily personal credentials can be stolen through phishing and spoofed websites, underscoring the need for vigilance.
• 🔗 The consequences of hacking can range from destructive data breaches to uncovering corporate vulnerabilities that can be addressed for improvement.
• 🗜️ Metadata, such as location and communication patterns, can reveal intimate details about individuals, even without accessing the content of their communications.
• 🌐 The internet has become a vast marketplace for personal data, with companies trading information that was once considered private.
• 🌏 Community-driven projects like SafeCast demonstrate the potential for technology to empower individuals to collect and control their own data for the collective good.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the film discussed in the script?

The main focus of the film is to explore digital privacy in the 21st century by undertaking various challenges around the world.

How has the concept of privacy evolved historically according to the script?

Historically, privacy evolved from communal living spaces to personal spaces with the invention of the chimney, and later with technological advancements, privacy concerns transitioned to digital spaces.

What is the role of Max, the professional digital detective, in the script?

Max is consulted to demonstrate how much personal information can be gathered from publicly available online sources using just a person's name.

What is the significance of the chimney in the context of privacy discussed in the script?

The chimney is significant as it allowed people to have personal spaces where they could lock themselves and their belongings, marking the beginning of an appreciation for privacy.

How does the script illustrate the potential of using personal information for psychological leverage?

The script illustrates this by showing how Max uses publicly available information to create a detailed profile that could be used to influence or manipulate an individual.

What is the 'right to privacy' mentioned in the script, and how was it established?

The 'right to privacy' refers to the legal concept that protects an individual's personal information from being publicly disclosed without their consent, which was established in the late 19th century by Warren and Brandeis.

How does the script suggest that companies often handle information policy?

The script suggests that companies often handle information policy as an afterthought, focusing on development first and addressing privacy concerns later.

What is the potential risk of having a large digital footprint as discussed in the script?

The potential risk of having a large digital footprint includes the possibility of being stalked, hacked, or having personal information used for malicious purposes.

What is the Morris worm mentioned in the script, and what was its impact?

The Morris worm was an early computer worm that exposed vulnerabilities in the internet, causing significant disruption and damage in 1988.

How does the script describe the process of hacking a computer?

The script describes hacking a computer through social engineering, such as using a fake website that looks like a legitimate one to trick a user into revealing their credentials.

What is the importance of metadata according to the script?

Metadata is important because it can reveal patterns about an individual's behavior, such as when they are at home or who they communicate with, which can be valuable for profiling and surveillance.

How does the script suggest that companies can protect themselves from cyber threats?

The script suggests that companies can protect themselves by implementing awareness training, using strong password policies, and being cautious of suspicious links or offers.

What is the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) discussed in the script?

The script discusses the potential of IoT to make our lives easier by automating tasks and providing convenience, but also highlights the need for considering privacy and security in their design.

Outlines

00:00

🔒 The Evolution and Battle for Digital Privacy

The script discusses the historical context of privacy, from communal living spaces to the invention of the chimney that allowed personal space. It then transitions to modern concerns with digital privacy, emphasizing the lack of synchronization between technological advancements and privacy laws. The narrator describes a journey to understand privacy in the digital age, including being stalked, hacked, and living in a smart home that monitors every move. The script also touches on the ease with which a professional digital detective can uncover personal information just from a name, highlighting the vulnerability of our digital footprint.

05:02

💻 Hacking History and Modern Cyber Threats

This section delves into the history of hacking, from early telegraph pranks to modern cyber threats. It discusses how hacking has evolved with technology, leading to significant events like the Morris worm and the Love Letter worm. The script then shifts to a practical demonstration of hacking, where the narrator's computer is compromised to show the ease of cyber attacks. The discussion continues with the vulnerability of corporations to such attacks and the importance of awareness and preparedness, concluding with the annual gathering of hackers in Las Vegas to exchange skills and techniques.

10:06

🌐 The Power and Peril of Digital Surveillance

The script explores the potential for surveillance through digital means, discussing how companies can be vulnerable to hacking and the potential consequences of such breaches. It includes a penetration test scenario where hackers exploit human nature and the desire for free products to infiltrate corporate systems. The discussion then turns to the importance of awareness training and the recognition that convenience often comes at the cost of security. The narrative also touches on the challenges of removing information from the internet once it's been leaked, using the example of Barbara Streisand's attempt to remove images that backfired and increased their visibility.

15:08

📡 Community Tech and the Collective Good

This part of the script focuses on how technology can be harnessed for collective good, using the example of SafeCast, a community-built Geiger counter used to map radiation levels after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. It discusses the importance of privacy in data collection and how SafeCast ensures the anonymity of its volunteers. The script also touches on the broader implications of the Internet of Things (IoT), suggesting that while it holds great potential, it also requires careful consideration of privacy and data management.

20:11

🏠 Smart Homes: The Future of Convenience and Privacy

The script discusses the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and its potential applications in smart homes. It explores the benefits of IoT in terms of convenience and efficiency, particularly for an aging population. However, it also raises concerns about privacy implications, as smart homes collect vast amounts of personal data. The discussion includes potential security risks, such as hackers gaining access to personal information, and the need for developers and consumers to prioritize privacy in the design and use of IoT devices.

25:15

🌟 The Crossroads of Digital Advancement and Privacy

In this final section, the script reflects on the crossroads we face as digital systems become more integrated into our lives. It raises questions about the permanence of data storage, the need for regulation, and how we can protect our digital legacy. The discussion emphasizes the importance of ethical data use and the responsibility each individual and business has in managing their security. The script concludes by highlighting that while digital systems offer significant advantages, we must be vigilant in how we manage and regulate them to safeguard our privacy.

Keywords

💡Digital privacy

Digital privacy refers to the right of individuals to have control over their personal information, particularly in the digital world. It is a central theme of the video, as it explores how advancements in technology have made it increasingly difficult to maintain control over one's personal data. The script mentions digital privacy in the context of celebrity nude leaks and corporate email scandals, highlighting the potential consequences of privacy breaches.

💡Digital footprint

A digital footprint is the trail of data left by an individual's online activities. The video script uses the term to describe the vast amount of information that can be gathered about a person based on their online presence. It's illustrated when the digital detective uses the narrator's name to find numerous personal details, showing how much of our lives we willingly share online.

💡Hacking

Hacking is the unauthorized access to computer systems with the intent to exploit or cause harm. The video discusses hacking as a significant threat to digital privacy, providing historical context from the first phone line hackers to modern-day cyber attacks. It also shows how easily a person's computer can be hacked, emphasizing the need for better security measures.

💡Data breach

A data breach occurs when unauthorized individuals gain access to sensitive information. The script mentions the devastating consequences of data breaches for businesses, such as financial losses and damage to reputation. It serves as a reminder of the importance of robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data.

💡Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity encompasses the technologies, processes, and practices designed to protect systems, networks, and data from cyberattacks. The video emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity, especially with the increasing reliance on digital systems. It suggests that companies often prioritize development over security, leading to potential vulnerabilities.

💡Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data. The video discusses IoT in the context of smart homes and the potential privacy implications of these devices collecting personal data.

💡Smart home

A smart home is a residence that uses IoT technology to provide domestic services that are convenient, efficient, and sometimes conscious of the residents' needs. The video explores the concept of smart homes, suggesting that while they can improve quality of life, especially for the elderly, they also pose potential privacy risks due to the data they collect.

💡Metadata

Metadata is data that describes other data, providing information about a certain piece of data's context. In the video, metadata is discussed in relation to digital communications, such as phone calls and messages, where it can reveal patterns and habits, such as when a person is likely to be at home, even if the content of the communication is encrypted.

💡Cryptography

Cryptography is the practice and study of secure communication in the presence of third parties. The video touches on the historical use of cryptography, such as by potters in the Middle East to protect their glaze formulas, and its importance in protecting sensitive information in the digital age.

💡Data protection

Data protection involves safeguarding stored data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. The video highlights the importance of data protection, especially in the context of businesses handling sensitive customer information. It suggests that companies need to have policies in place from the start to control their data footprint.

💡Digital侦探

A digital detective is a professional who specializes in investigating cybercrimes and protecting online reputations. In the video, the digital detective demonstrates how much personal information can be gathered legally and ethically, highlighting the ease with which our digital privacy can be compromised.

Highlights

Digital privacy is often overlooked until high-profile leaks occur.

The level of connectedness on the internet has reached unprecedented levels.

Privacy in the 21st century is under scrutiny through various challenges.

Historical perspective on privacy shows a shift from communal living to personal spaces.

The chimney as a revolutionary technology that allowed for personal space.

The rich have always had better control over their privacy.

The birth of the right to privacy through a legal case in 1890s Boston.

Modern technology has put personal information at risk despite privacy laws.

A professional digital detective can gather extensive personal information from public sources.

Social media footprints can reveal personal habits and locations.

Online data can be used to create psychological leverage.

Companies often prioritize technology over information policy.

Data breaches can have devastating consequences for businesses.

Historical hacking incidents reveal the evolution of cyber threats.

Hackers today are both a threat and a valuable asset to corporations.

A simple typo in a URL can lead to a full system compromise.

Hackers can exploit USB devices to gain access to computers.

Awareness training is key to preventing cyber attacks.

Incident-handling plans are crucial for businesses facing data breaches.

Ancient practices of cryptography highlight the long-standing need for confidentiality.

The Kama Sutra recommended encrypting lovers' messages for privacy.

21st-century data is exploited by governments and corporations.

Preventative techniques for digital privacy are taught by organizations like Tactical Tech.

Metadata can reveal patterns about individuals, such as locations and habits.

Companies are not transparent about their use of metadata.

Trading data is not new, but the internet has amplified its scale.

SafeCast uses community-built Geiger counters to map radiation levels after Fukushima.

Smart homes are being developed with a focus on health and safety, particularly for the aging population.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is expanding into various industries, raising privacy concerns.

Smart homes can track activities and habits, potentially leading to privacy breaches.

IoT devices need to consider security at the design level to ensure privacy.

As IoT becomes more prevalent, ethical use of data will be crucial for its success.

The responsibility for security and privacy starts with individuals and businesses.

Transcripts

Digital privacy doesn't always make headline news

unless celebrity nudes are leaked

or compromising corporate emails are made public.

But our relationship to the internet has reached

an unprecedented level of connectedness.

In this new environment, the state of privacy deserves a closer look.

In this film I'm going to travel the world to undergo challenges

that will explore our digital life in the 21st century.

I'll be stalked, I'll be hacked, I'll fight to get leaked documents back.

I'll dive into open data and then I'll live in a futuristic home that will monitor my every move.

All to examine 21st century privacy.

But how did we get here?

Before the 1600s most people's homes were communal.

Life orientated around a central fireplace.

There was very little privacy or personal space.

And then a revolutionary new technology, the chimney.

People could lock themselves and their things in personal spaces.

They began to appreciate their privacy

and expect that what happened behind closed doors stayed there.

The rich have always had better control over their privacy.

In 1890s Boston, Warren and Brandeis were attorneys for the high society.

So, the next tech innovation came along.

Their clients had grown accustomed to letting their hair down

behind closed doors.

When photos of their parties landed on the front-pages of gossip rags,

they were suitably outraged and sued them.

They won and the right to privacy was born.

Now, that was fine until the next big tech innovation came along

and put a device into our homes and our pockets

that lets us air our dirty laundry to the world.

Our attitudes and the law haven't caught up yet.

I'm in Los Angeles to meet Max, a professional digital detective,

who works with businesses and celebrities to protect their online reputations.

I gave him just my name and then challenged him

to gather as much information about me

from what I'd willingly shared online.

- You ready to go through the box? - I'm a bit nervous, to be fair.

Let's walk you through it. This is scratching the surface.

This is essentially a couple of hours of work.

That's pretty deep.

You have a pretty sizeable digital footprint

and most of this represents media that you put out yourself.

You might say to me, "Well, my life is an open book, I'm not worried about you revealing any information."

But if I'm looking to get you to do something you might not want to do,

I'm going to use anything at my disposal

to create some sort of psychological leverage.

- All right. What is that? - No we get into your social media footprint.

Right. OK.

These are all terrible pictures that I took with silly hair and...

Lots and lots of selfies.

And places that you go that you yelp about.

Did I yelp?

So your physical location starts to reveal itself, documenting yourself

and capturing clues that you might not have intended.

All of this I've intended. Absolutely all of this I've intended.

You've got a grin on your face. That says we're about to dive into...

Yes. OK. So now we're getting...

How did you find all of my addresses?

Because you did a registration. Because you signed a document.

Your previous addresses, pieces of ownership.

- Yes. - And photographs from the inside.

Wow. Oh, my gosh.

- Because now that's on Airbnb. - A walk-through of your spaces.

Yes. My assets.

I'm gaining more and more personal information, including...

That's my business addresses, tax exemptions,

all of my company business.

Yes. Your worth. Your finances.

This goes into a larger question

of how companies are treating their technology and their policy

if they even have a policy.

In many cases I've seen it's an afterthought.

In start-up mode, many companies, they hire their developers

and then the information policy comes much, much later.

But doing it from the beginning, as you can see when you register that domain,

when you start creating these corporations, you're starting that footprint.

You need to control that from the beginning

And so what we're looking at here is a pile of things that have been indexed

Then, over time, as software gets more sophisticated, they'll get more searchable and obtainable.

We cast long digital shadows

imagine the footprint left by a business with hundreds of employees all with the company email address

all contributing to the online reputation.

And this is just data willingly put in the public domain.

But what happens when data that isn't for public consumption ends up in the wrong hands?

Information we assume is secure: like financial details,

credit card numbers, health records, business correspondence,

When a business falls victim to a sensitive data breach the consequences can be particularly devastating.

In order to get a better idea of this threat, I'm going to face it head on.

I'm going to get my Guardian computer hacked.

The first hacker struck at a live telegraph event in 1903.

John Fleming was not at all pleased that prankster and magician Nevil Maskelyne

chose to insert insulting Morse code into his fancy demo.

Modern-day hacking started with a phone line.

Freakers, as they were known, spent the 1970s making free international phone calls.

In 1981, however, the first freaker was convicted in the US for hacking,

but this hack helped to expose the holes in the phone system.

In 1988 the Morris worm hit an early version of the internet,

exposing vulnerabilities in this technology.

In 2000 the Love Letter worm infected 10% of the world's internet-connected computers,

causing almost $9 billion in damages worldwide.

It was a casually created joke by two friends in the Philippines.

In recent years the new breed of geeks are being hired by governments, financial systems and corporations

to both attack and defend.

In order to get a better idea of this threat, I'm travelling to Las Vegas.

Here, annually, for the past 20 years international hackers have been gathering

to show off their skills and to exchange techniques.

We already know what can be learned about me through a legal search,

but what can be uncovered with specialist skills?

With my Guardian computer I'm visiting two hackers, can they hack my laptop?

What is the security situation like in the Middle East, say, compared with Europe or the US?

I think the whole region is somewhere between 5 to 10 years behind,

as far as awareness of the importance of information security.

Mainly because the media doesn't really talk about it.

In the States, you turn on any TV channel

and there's a story about a big hack because these things happen and are publicised.

Yes, I've just got an email from my director.

He says there's a good article on the front-page of the Guardian.

So... Oh, Lord, there's nothing but bad news down here, is there?

- That's the world for you. - It is, isn't it?

Except there's a cool picture from NASA.

As you're browsing through the Guardian,

I just stole your credentials, so I have your email address... .com

and the password is...

- which is a nice Guns N' Roses song. - Thank you very much!

I'm actually compromising your whole machine. I could have downloaded files.

I could do a rickroll, which is redirecting your browser.

- Never Gonna Give You Up. - I just sent you to Rick Astley.

You did.

How did you crack my computer?

The website you're on is not actually the Guardian.

It looks like the Guardian.

No it is, but if you look at it carefully, which people don't really do, on the URL,

it actually says "theguardlian", so I added an "L" in there.

- Yes, I... - Yes, you did. It was added?

No, I actually registered the website, the guardlian.com.

- That's available? - It was. Not any more.

And so I cloned a live version of the actual Guardian website,

so you wouldn't know you're not there.

No, it looks exactly, I mean, it looks like the Guardian.

It's enough to take control of your whole computer

because you actually gave me access, just clicking on the link.

I clicked through to the link

from a person who sent me an email whom I trust.

Well, your Facebook, your LinkedIn is out there

and we can find out who you're associated with.

Then we can get their email out of their LinkedIn or Facebook.

It's a very easy fake.

Is it as easy to do this to company computers?

It's probably easier because out of 100 or 1,000 people,

you know, it's more than probable that at least some of them will click the link.

Every year, international hackers converge in Las Vegas

to attend a series of conferences - Def Con, BSides and Black Hat.

Over a few weeks they exchange the latest hacking and security tricks and techniques.

We're here in Vegas, kind of in the belly of the beast.

Are there any examples of this kind of exploitation happening in the wild?

Sure, in the old days, and by old days I mean five years ago,

we used to do a lot of USB-based attacks

where we would drop them around parking lots and that was really common.

So what I want you to do is plug that in.

For one, you don't ever want to stick anything into your computer

that you don't actually know what it is.

At this point I can do anything I want to your computer.

I can do a key logger. I can download and upload files.

You can see here that we're here in the C:/Users/Aleksdirectory.

We noticed you have some business files and some personal files.

- I do, yes. - We're going to go ahead and download those

to our computer.

I don't want you to have that.

Now we can do a lot of things.

I could take screen shots from your camera.

- Of me? - Of you.

We can record the sound.

And then we're able to download a file to your computer.

It's moving.

And set it to your desktop background.

That's a fantastic picture, guys.

- I've been hacked. - Correct.

What about for corporations? How are they vulnerable with this kind of thing?

We've done a number of penetration tests where we've gone to our local computer store.

We've bought 10 or 20 keyboards and slotted one of these devices in

in every single keyboard and packed them up in a box and just sent them to the company.

And what we've done is put a fake letter in there that says,

"Hey, we're from HP. We want you to check out our new keyboard.

"We're hoping if we give you these 20 free models

"you'll buy 10,000 of them down the road because they're so great.

"Please try these out."

Nobody resists free stuff.

If you make it expensive enough and nice enough, people will use it.

But humans are humans. Is there anything companies can do?

I would say basically it's awareness training.

You can have all the firewalls you want

and all the password policies.

If they're just going to get online and click on any link, then it renders all that moot.

Sometimes we have to sacrifice some convenience for safety.

If it's too good to be true, either in an email format

or something you found or something somebody sent you, it probably is.

Wow! It was quite unsettling to see how easy it was to get hacked.

But the consequences of getting hacked aren't always destructive.

Sometimes it ends up exposing corporate vulnerabilities or flaws

that a business can address and improve upon.

Certainly from this hack the Guardian will be more astute with its domain registration.

Thankfully none of my personal or the Guardian's business data was subsequently leaked online.

But what if it had been?

How can we start to take control?

And what can we do to get information we never wanted to be on the internet removed?

There are clearly examples where taking action to remove content from the internet

can have negative consequences.

So, there's an example where Barbara Streisland had some photos

of her beachfront property published online in a public archive.

She tried to sue the photographer to take the images down

and the result of that was a much larger public outcry.

And the image went effectively viral online as a result of the action she'd taken.

So the very first thing is just to be conscious that if you've put something on the internet

there's no guarantee that it stays secure and under your control.

I think companies need to have some sort of incident-handling plan

to know when something does occur, and it will,

how they are going to respond to that so it isn't a panic in the business at that time.

I guess what we see in many companies is that they've moved to adopt the new technologies

because they bring business benefit, but they've not thought through - necessarily - the risks.

How do you ensure that information doesn't make you vulnerable?

It really depends where the data is, so if it's linked through somewhere like Google, Twitter, Facebook,

there are removal procedures you can go through.

But if your data is on a Russian hacker site somewhere,

they're unlikely to respond to a take-down request.

The best you can do is try to mitigate the consequences.

So, for businesses and individuals, once the information is out,

it seems nearly impossible to take back control of it.

Since the earliest days of human communication, we quickly learn the importance of confidentiality.

It's been good business.

3,000 years ago in the Middle East potters used cryptography

to keep their glaze formula secret from competitors.

Particularly during conflict.

Protecting correspondence has always been of the utmost importance.

But it wasn't just military and business information we sought to protect.

In 400 BC the writers of the Kama Sutra recommended that lovers encrypt their messages

to keep them from prying eyes.

Now in the 21st century we're exchanging more business and personal information than ever before,

though we've relinquished control of this data to governments and corporations.

Often instead of safekeeping this material, we've found that they're exploiting it.

To learn about preventative techniques my next stop is Berlin where I'm meeting Stephanie Hankey.

Her organisation provides tips, tools and techniques to individuals, such as journalists and activists

whose lives depend upon retaining control of their digital privacy.

If you're interviewing people, it may be just as important for you as a journalist that somebody from the outside

can't see who you're talking to.

Let's say about a phone call that we might have, we might think it needs to be encrypted,

so people don't know what we're talking about.

And sometimes that's true but very often what's more important is that we're having a conversation,

but also we talked last week and that today we talked for an hour.

That's metadata.

What other forms of data might be collected about me?

You know, for expample, if you're walking around a city, in order for the phone to know where you are,

to look at a map, you have to have location data on.

If you look on your iPhone, in the System Services section...

Lo and behold, down, somewhere buried in the menu.

There's a frequent locations. Most people are quite surprised when they look at it

because it gives a kind of overview of something. For example, it even It guesses what your home is.

When you start to look at the patterns,

then you can start to see things like probably when you come into the house after work,

when you leave in the morning. Those kind of things.

You can't stop that but what you can do sometimes is switch location services off, for example.

So what are companies doing with this metadata?

These companies are not yet very transparent about what they're doing with the data.

Some of that is profiling and advertising and so on but some of it has gone much further.

For example, LinkedIn is also using their large-scale analysis of the data

to advise governments and that becomes very complicated

because people are not thinking they're contributing to that sample.

In the modern world, a huge amount of a information is collected about each of us

as we go about our daily lives.

Whether we disclose it willingly or unwittingly, this valuable data is now a commodity

that is traded amongst a handful of companies.

Trading data is hardly a new thing.

We've always benefitted from sharing information.

It's helped to advance civilisation.

The internet is the latest in a long line of technologies

that have ushered in great innovations and social change.

Trade routes introduced mathematics and astronomy from Arabia,

weapons and vaccinations from China

and spices and philosophies from the subcontinent.

The printing press blew apart traditional hierarchies,

letting the people interpret and proclaim, rather than those in power.

The telegraph brought the world infinitely closer together,

totally disrupting business, governance and the judicial system.

And every step of the way the powers that be tried to claw back control.

Today there are three-billion people communicating through the internet.

This latest network has given each of us the empowering ability

to collaborate, share and exchange information rapidly and efficiently.

What if there was a way to harness it for the collective good?

I'm headed to Japan where I'm going to volunteer to test radiation levels

using a community-built Geiger counter.

I'll use my data to help map the fallout of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

After the disaster in March 2011, information about radiation hazards

that was being released by the government

was at best incomplete, often contradictory

and ultimately not really reliable.

So we felt it was one thing to say,

"My government tells me radiation level is X. I guess I'll believe it."

Or to go and measure it yourself.

I mean, if you measure it yourself, then you really can have confidence in that data.

So, SafeCast was really formed to allow citizens

themselves to gather the information they needed and to disseminate it in a very free way.

SafeCast Geiger kits are open-source.

Through building the devices themselves, people learn how the technology works

and as a consequence many have offered both hardware and software improvements.

This has helped to rapidly evolve the design.

People from all sorts of walks of life participate: anti-nuclear, pro-nuclear, teachers, housewives

anyone can build it and submit data.

How can organisations wisely protect the data that they're collecting?

I think the most important thing that we found the need to protect is privacy.

For instance, the privacy of volunteers. We allow them to participate anonymously.

In Fukushima Prefecture there was concern that people

would have radiation levels in their front yard publicised

and that this could somehow affect them negatively

and because of that, we decided to use a hardware hack

to allow them to put the data in a grid of 100 metres

that doesn't identify that data spot with a particular person's property.

How much of Japan has been mapped?

We argue that we have been able to provide a wider coverage

of radiation surveys than the government has

and this isbecause of the activities of very active volunteers.

Certainly, Fukushima has been repeatedly mapped for three years or more.

But there still are a few corners no volunteers have been to,

so today we can go to a park in Koto Ward,

called Kiyosumi Park, and we can check that out.

We're looking at 0.1 microsieverts per hour.

This is about normal. Pretty average for Tokyo.

How does that compare though with, say, somewhere like the epicentre of the accident?

This is a piece of a deck that one of our volunteers was building

when the disaster happened in the town of Koriyama,

which is one of the fairly radioactive places in Fukushima.

- Woo! Listen to that! - Yes.

You can hear it. It's like a scary noise.

It's already now 10 times what it was...

- This is a very radioactive sample. - That is significantly higher.

And this is the degree of fallout that was everywhere in that area.

Inside the highly radioactive places in Fukushima Daiichi reactor itself,

it's 1,000 times higher, or more.

We're getting to a point where technically, because of the hardware and software tools,

things that were previously only possible

if you were a government or a large research institution, now a highschool kid can do.

This is going to get better, quicker, easier and cheaper.

We are trying to show the potential of that.

This is an example of the agile development organisations can use

when they open up and engage their contributors.

By introducing privacy measures, SafeCast has built confidence in their project

and trust amongst their collaborators.

This is an increasingly important consideration, as by 2020 it's estimated that there will be 30-billion things

connected to the internet.

I'll explore the privacy and data implications

by spending 24 hours in a technology-laden smarthome.

Technology liberates us to pursue things we would rather be doing.

It always has done.

Back in Iran, agriculture technologies let us domesticate barley, wheat and lentils,

so we didn't have to constantly travel to put food in our stomachs.

We've spent our lives since then looking to reduce the heavy lifting.

The Industrial Revolution meant hand-production methods

were given over to machines.

People could move to the city where the new middle class could find other pursuits.

When automation hit the scene we also gave the heavy thinking to these machines

and they've become twice as smart every two years.

We've travelled to space and 20 years later we have the same smarts in our pockets.

We are now freer to want. Want cheaper and faster.

We allow machines to do more of our work for us.

70% of all trades made on the US stock market in 2011

were made by algorithms, not people.

We autofill, we store in the cloud, we find love with a swipe right.

Algorithms and artificial intelligences process this information for us.

However, today it seems we serve computers.

Most of us spend more time gazing into our four-inch screens

than into the eyes of our loved ones.

Smartphones are setting us an endless stream of to-dos and check lists.

In an attempte to alleviate this, companies are creating new connected products

to sense, learn and ultimately predict our every need.

Collectively, these products are known as IOT or the Internet Of Things.

You may have heard of domestic applications of IOT -

curtains that raise with you in the morning,

fridges that restock themselves, but what about the toilets that check your health

and notify you if you're pregnant?

IOT is expanding across industries, from manufacturing to gardening,

from energy to mobility.

It's estimated that presently 1% of everything that could be connected to the internet is.

Imagine a world where the other 99%

are also constantly sensing, storing and communicating data

about every aspect of our lives.

What kind of hardware systems does the smarthome use?

There are three kinds. First is the sensor to collect personal data.

Second the data of the internal network of the house

This is the tate of the network connectoin inside and outside of the house.

How do you see smart homes changing people's lives in the future?

We believe the keyword is health

Now the technology of sensor has developed so we can collect data of each individual.

We can research the causes of illness and accidents at home.

By utilising the data we can develop the technology for safety and health.

So in Japan a primary motivation for this technology

is to provide a safer and more efficient environment,

particularly for their ageing population.

But are there any drawbacks?

I just had the experience of being in a smarthome.

Are there any potential privacy implications that I should be worried about?

I think that there are already a number of privacy implications,

just because it's possible to use various sensors

to track your activities, to track your habits.

In some cases, I have heard of incidences where you have a smarthome

where there will be a camera built into a device

to allow for various metrics to be measured.

But unwittingly allowing hackers to, say, peer into your living room

and so everything is a two-sided coin where there are pros,

but if the security isn't addressed, they could easily be used for a con

and people fail to realise that.

Would you live in a smarthome or work in a smartoffice?

Me, personally, I would love to because then I can get my hands dirty on all the devices -

test them, find out issues.

- Hack them. - Yes!

But as a normal user, I would still be a little sceptical

of what kind of devices I deploy.

Because the vendors want to reach to the market quickly,

they're not giving as much attention to the security.

They just want to quickly build it up and ship it.

So that's where the major problem lies.

And then there are three major attacks that we are going to see.

One is the controlling app, the mobile, the client side.

One is the device itself.

And one is the cloud where the whole user data is going to be saved.

So we have to be very careful on what kind of data is being saved

and how it is being saved.

As soon as this gets mass adoption at the levels it will

and as soon as more data gets online,

how that's protected, how that could be erased,

how that could be forgotten -

these issues, at least from a Japan context, has not been debated.

Around the world they're being addressed,

but I think we're still in the infancy stage of what that really means.

What should businesses be aware of when they're implementing IOT strategies?

When you deal with IOT it's not an IT issue,

it is a management and risk issue, it involves the entire company.

With that said, it's very, very important

that you do cyber security at the design level,

like the automobile or the airplane.

If you think about it, these are designed security first

in a transparent, background manner, and that's where we need to get to.

There's little doubt that the Internet Of Things is the future

because we've sought out and embraced ways to make our lives easier.

But it's clear developers and consumers

need to think about privacy and not just as an afterthought.

It might be useful for navigation for my car to know my location,

but does it need access to my social media accounts?

Does the information that is collected by these devices

need to be stored forever?

If most of us strive to live in the moment,

then perhaps so too should our data.

With these devices entering our homes and offices,

building trust through ethical use of our personal and professional data

will become crucial for these technologies to truly succeed.

So as we adopt digital systems and products to make our lives easier

we each produce exponential amounts of data about ourselves and our businesses.

Some we willingly share but much of it we unwittingly contribute.

We are incresingly placing our trust in third parties

- does the data that's already out there need to be stored permanently?

Do we need regulation to ensure encryption and data decay?

How can we protect our legacy from being exposed and used against us?

The responsibility for our security starts with us.

It's the domain of personal and professional management.

Today we are at a crossroad: adopting these systems give us a huge advantage,

but we must take stock in how we manage and regulate them to protect us as individuals and as businesses.