Privacy Abolished: Data is Not Under Control

Surveillance in public spaces and the digital realm has almost completely abolished privacy. However, there is no insight into how the data collected, for example, through facial recognition technology or third-party cookies, is used, nor what is really at stake when discussing data retention (data retention) and the disruption of innovation. Is the situation truly under control when it comes to surveillance and espionage and how global and European policies protect data? Although the collection of all kinds of data is not considered ‘serious’ espionage, logically speaking, data is the foundation of every espionage because everything starts from it, whether it concerns an individual, a company, or a state. Data security is extremely important today because breaches of their databases, even when they are best protected, cannot be avoided.

Release from Moral Responsibility

Israel is currently among the most attacked countries by hackers in the world, but also one of the most technically powerful in data defense and protection. Israeli journalist and publicist Yossi Melman, who works for the Israeli daily Haaretz, is one of the leading experts on espionage and international security. According to him, there is a global trend for innovations and military technology to begin to be used in both the private and civil sectors, which often brings many questions about the security and transparency of the development and use of such technologies.

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– It is like nuclear technology, whose use is often beneficial, yet carries dangers; therefore, the application and disclosure of such technological advancements should be regulated and monitored. Technology also contributes to the release from moral responsibility and helps operators cope more easily with the consequences of their actions, which are often morally questionable – says Melman, author of several bestsellers about Mossad and the Israeli internal security service Shin Bet.

The Famous Unit 8-200

His approximately ten books have been published in 20 languages in about 40 countries.

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Yossi Melman, journalist and publicist
 

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– In Israel, many technological innovations are developed by security services or the intelligence community. For example, Mossad has followed in the footsteps of the CIA. A few years ago, it established a company or entered into a joint business venture with the private sector. The private sector can include people who have left the service, former security-intelligence service officials, or IT specialists from the intelligence service. Their common mandate is to develop something unique exclusively for the intelligence community, for Mossad, for example, or for the domestic security service Shin Bet or the military intelligence unit 8-200, and when that project or product becomes outdated or a new version already exists, they offer it to the public or private sector. Facial recognition, eye contact, eye cameras, glass cameras, and all other equipment for eavesdropping, interception, and listening or cybernetics are designed for penetration into computers – explains Melman.

He notes that some claim military technology is five to ten times more advanced than civilian. According to him, this is an Israeli phenomenon, but not only his; Israel is one of the leaders in this.

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– Unit 8-200 developed equipment, software, and technologies for military use, and then university graduates become captains and leaders in the private sector. I can give you examples of companies like Nice or the notorious NSO and Checkpoint, whose founders are programmers who emerged from the security services, unit 8-200. In the last five to six years, Mossad and domestic security services, which have weaker technological capabilities than unit 8-200, have been imitating that interaction and intertwined relationship – says Melman.

The Genie Out of the Bottle

When it comes to military technologies in civilian use, according to Melman, the genie has already left the bottle. But it does not matter whether it is good or bad. There are two sides to this coin; it is like the atom in the service of peace: on one side, it helps civil society, it can be used to improve life and in medical equipment; on the other side, it is a monstrous tool because it can kill all of humanity. Since it has been used twice already, the same can be said for cyber warfare.

– On one side, it helps protect privacy and computers, improves various aspects of life, and makes it easier; on the other side, it violates privacy, can be used for theft, fraud… Therefore, it is no longer important whether its technology is military or civilian; they are so intertwined. The military is a hierarchical organization, can use many resources, is focused on the goal, has money and government support, and can do everything faster, and sometimes even better, than a privately owned company. But above all, the answer is in the eye of the beholder. It depends on how technologies are applied. If you are for human rights, you would say it is very bad; if you are for fighting terrorism, which is also important, then you would say it is good. Of course, there must be regulations, limitations imposed by the government to reduce potential threats from manipulation methods – says Melman.

A Lot of Nonsense

He emphasizes that it is questionable whether all technology should be available to the public just because the public finances it, but also that better regulations and better state control are needed.

– I am talking about democratic societies. It is pointless to use this to try to convince dictatorial regimes that technology should be regulated, limited, and monitored by the government, the public, or the media. But technology is so advanced that even in democracies it can do terrible things, whether it comes from the military or the private sector. That is why governments must be much more cautious, but unfortunately, not all are. We have even seen in democracies how technology takes control, manipulates, and harms the public at the expense of the government or security services’ welfare or even considers it a path to very bad people like criminals and paramilitary formations – says Melman.

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When it comes to the disruption of innovation, Melman claims that this is not his area of interest, but emphasizes that there is also a lot of nonsense here, whether it concerns general or technical use. For example, the introduction of hands-off technology helps and facilitates operators in facing the consequences of their actions.

– Like drone operators, you sit in an air-conditioned room in Nevada, but by pressing a button, people are killed. When you are on the battlefield (and I was in the army for three years), you can see people dying, death; you can see face to face the fight between you and your enemy. In the first case, the technique helps you clear your conscience or not doubt at all – says Melman.

The Vice President of the Croatian Association of Security Managers and information security consultant Alen Delić claims that handling data collected, for example, through facial recognition technology or third-party cookies is a broad area that different parties approach differently.

Seemingly High Regulation

Practice, says Delić, shows that regulation, although seemingly high, is often not enforced.

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Alen Delić

photo Mario Blažević

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– I would separate the technologies used for facial recognition from the frequent topic of cookies, which are primarily a challenge from a marketing and sales perspective. However, in both areas, protective mechanisms and regulatory requirements are still not sufficiently understood or are ignored, resulting in data being stored in inadequately protected places, with no knowledge of who accesses them and how, as well as being used for purposes different from those for which they were intended – says Delić and advises that this problem should be approached systematically, simply put.

Anyone processing data should clearly define what data it is and for what purposes it is used, analyze the associated risks, and apply management mechanisms, which include a range of protective measures. People most recognize measures related to the storage and location of data, their archiving to be available when they need to be, managing access rights to minimize access to data and ensure that it is known who did what with which data, and so on.

– The challenge is proper access or good practices in that such management should involve multiple parties, from system owners, IT, to lawyers – emphasizes Delić.

Availability to the Masses

In general, data management implies knowing what data is being used, how, where, and for how long it is stored.

– The regulation on the protection of personal data states that they can be kept in a form that allows identification only as long as necessary for the purposes for which they are processed, and exceptions related to longer periods apply to those personal data that are processed exclusively for archiving purposes in the public interest, for scientific or historical research purposes, or specifically defined statistical purposes – explains Delić.

He also adds that when talking about innovations and challenges, these are most often technological achievements that enable highly sophisticated products to become available to the broader masses, and in the context of personal data protection, a conflict arises between high demands for their protection and the need for their use in developing new solutions.