Privacy Threats Are Real
Everywhere you turn on the internet, there are articles and columns warning you to be safe on the internet and touting ways to do so. After awhile, you can become desensitized and the threat of internet security breaches will seem unreal. It seems enough to most to avoid sketchy websites and pop-ups telling them they have won a million dollars, but it seems the danger is closer than we thought.
The Federal Trade Commission that a major retailer has been caught red-handed snooping on customer’s computer information. The retailer offered participants 10$ to sign up for a survery program. Here is the description of the program: “…participate in exciting, engaging, and on-going interactions- always on your terms and always by your choice.”
It seems benign, harmless, and vague, but unfortunately, according to the FTC, it turns out that this retailer was gathering more information than just that which pertained to their business. The company said that all it would glean from its participants’ activities was online browsing of their company website, to delineate product demographics, find popular pages, etc…. boring, corporate stuff.
What these unsuspecting customers didn’t know was that this retailers was also extracting and analyzing information about their online banking, drug prescriptions, and even library transactions! The cat was out of the bag: the FTC investigation exhumed the unthinkable; a major, known and trusted company adding more than just a seemingly harmless survey program. Turns out that it was all true up to the “surv” part; “surveillance” would be a more accurate term.
Even when backed into the corner with the fresh blood on their fingers, the company assumes no guilt in this travesty. They offered up a stoic, deft pseudo-apology:
“Participants were informed beforehand about the nature of the program, and every effort was made to uphold their security and privacy… furthermore, all information pertaining to the survey is destroyed once processed.”
Their corporate apology doesn’t exonerate them in the public’s eyes. Maybe no legal action will be taken, but nothing less than a major PR hit is due.
The internet is a dangerous place. Be careful who you trust, and always double-check their credibility. Just because it is a name you recognize (or get your air-conditioning from) doesn’t mean that it is safe to let them into your virtual home. You may find that instead of just giving them harmless information they requested, you may be unknowingly allowing them access to many things that could compromise your privacy and security online. Ignorance is not bliss; don’t be jaded, but always be wary whom you trust in the vast land of good and evil; the big WWW.
