Fred's views - Issue 2
Fred's views
Issue 2
An obvious side-effect of the arms race to gather more and more data is the potential for leaks of said data. It was another bumper week for announcements of shocking data breaches, and to be fair, institutions that we would expect to play it safe are often the most egregious offenders. The key question is at what point the costs of these negative externalities surpass the benefits, and how close we are to that point. We may not be there just yet, but I feel like we're coming close.
Close-up - Privacy and Security
The website for real estate title insurance giant First American Financial Corp. leaked hundreds of millions of documents related to mortgage deals going back to 2003: Read (Krebs on Security)
A massive database containing contact information of millions of Instagram influencers, celebrities and brand accounts was left exposed and without a password: Read (Techchrunch)
Of course it's not just accidents or incompetence, sometimes we catch a glimpse of intentional breaches, such as this exploit in WhatsApp allowing an attacker to take control of a device: Israel’s NSO: the business of spying on your iPhone (FT $)
And while the importance of good security infrastructure and practices is now hopefully clear to pretty much anyone, there is still some way to go in addressing the existing issues, as this study from a security research firm shows. Political Parties Still Have Cybersecurity Hygiene Problems (Wired)
Wide angle
This conversation between Kara Swisher and "Winners Take All" author Anand Giridharadas is well worth a listen: Anand Giridharadas on the phony philanthropy of tech billionaires — Recode Decode with Kara Swisher (Overcast link)
Speaking of Giridharadas, this piece by Michael Moritz from Sequoia Capital is a neat example of the issues he describes in "Winners Take All". Moritz breathlessly hypes the potential of "cloud kitchens", and has no second thoughts whatsoever about predicting the destruction of the urban fabric as we know it and what could come in its place. Presumably that's something for the government to figure out. Read (FT $)
China's Belt and Road initiative doesn't only cover physical infrastructure such as railways, roads and ports but also digital infrastructure. However, there are fears some of these projects may not adhere to international standards and give rise to a "Chinese" internet. China’s Digital Silk Road and stopping divergent technology standards (Lowy Institute)
Southeast Asia's startup scene is heating up, and many highly-educated professionals are returning home to partake: Southeast Asian 'turtles' return home to hatch tech startups (Nikkei Asian Review)
Excellent opinion piece on how the idea that we own our devices is no longer correct: “We Are Tenants on Our Own Devices” (Wired)