Book Review: Data and Goliath

Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World

Bruce Schneier (2015)

Digital Tattoo Rating: 4/5

Summary

Guillaume Courtois, David and Goliath. c. 1650-1660. Oil on canvas. Public domain. Source.

Once, while talking with Digital Tattoo contributor Elyse, I jokingly remarked that Google owned me. “Oh, Google owns all of us,” she said. We laughed, but really, neither of us were joking. Between my reliance on Google Docs to keep my files stored in one central place and my reliance on Google Maps to get me from point A to point B (or to indicate how long it will take to get to there based on current traffic conditions), more or less every move I make is Google’s business. I mean that quite literally: Google is in the business of knowing what I’m up to and of owning that information. Even if I weren’t such a frequent user of Google’s services, they would still know everything about me. In Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World, Bruce Schneier demonstrates just how true this is. This carefully researched work explores how surveillance works today, how it impacts users, and just how dangerous it really is. From foreign governments to Internet giants like Google and Apple, Schneier explains how not many of my actions belong to me at all. Not many of yours belong to you, either.

Schneier breaks this book down into three major parts. “The World We’re Creating” explores data production and collection. “What’s at Stake” discusses the impact of this surveillance, and the threat it poses to individual security and liberty. Read back-to-back these two sections can seem pretty disheartening, so part three, “What to do About It,” comes as a relief. This section breaks down possible solutions for governments, corporations, and individuals.

All in all, this is an interesting, if not moderately horrifying, look into the world of data collection, governance, and surveillance. It is well worth a read for anyone interested in understanding data and the ways in which we are all being tracked, cookie by cookie.

Now what?

In the meantime, what can you do to make yourself less trackable? Here are some places to start.

1. Avoid surveillance. Pay with cash instead of card, to start.
2. Block surveillance. Encrypt everything you can.
3. Distort surveillance. Clear your cookies regularly.
4. Notice surveillance. Be on the lookout for opportunities for data collection. Never trust a pop-up asking for your email address.
   And most importantly:
5. Talk about surveillance. Make sure others are aware of their data generation and data collection, and encourage others to be mindful of surveillance

Written by Samantha Summers

Edited by Elyse Hill

Slider image Untitled by Mohamed Hassan. Used under CC0 Public Domain license.