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Our data isn't safe. Resist giving it up whenever you can
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- bell-cot 2y agoRather than get into arguments with whatever bottom-tier employee is asking for my personal information, I just mention that the CIA's Top Secret computer database, of Top Secret Information about their Top Secret Secret Agents, was successfully hacked. Years ago. Once given that "out", no employee has ever felt the need to argue that their company's computers are somehow secure.
- immibis 2y agoThey probably got fired, since telling you the system is secure is part of their job duties.
- bell-cot 2y agoPerhaps I've gotten dozens of scarce (local job market) retail employees fired over the years. With no push-back from them. Perhaps your hypothesis is incorrect.
- knowaveragejoe 2y agoYou touch on an important point, in that the situation in which this happens is laden with all kinds of social pressures(holding up a line, explaining to a SO why you aren't just giving over what they asked for to get on with your day, etc etc).
- imgabe 2y agoInstead of fretting about every data breach we need companies to start adopting security models that assume all the data is public and not rely on using SSN or address history or such for authentication/ authorization.
- simonw 2y agoI still can't believe the thing where in America you need to treat your social security number - a short identifier that never changes and is shared with hundreds of organizations - as private, because people who have access to it can do things like open loans in your name. Terrible way to design a society!
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- cqqxo4zV46cp 2y agoAdd it to the list!
- digging 2y agoIn fact, it was designed not to be used that way, but someone at some point got lazy and now here we are.
- JohnFen 2y agoThis is a thing that concerned people can largely address, though. There are three reasons that a company wants your SSN. One is for tax-reporting reasons. For those, it's possible to get and provide a taxpayer ID number to use instead of the SSN. Another is when they're going to need to file reports with Social Security itself. For those, they really do need your SSN. A third is that they just want an ID number and are being lazy. I've found that in the majority of cases, just telling them that you don't provide your SSN for that purpose works. They'll generate their own number to use instead.
- JohnMakin 2y agoData breaches are one thing, but the pervasive use of trackers and profiling/fingerprinting is much scarier and has potentially much worse consequences if left unfettered. Or stuff like my smart car streaming data without my permission to my insurer about how I’m driving. It’s pervasive and gross and you have no recourse if the system is screwing you unfairly (which it will). You shouldn’t need specifics about my device info or browser for your site to work. And you certainly should make it easy to opt out of whatever data you’re selling on me when I use your services, unfortunately we seem to be in a race to the bottom there.
- doctorpangloss 2y agoWith regards to the car insurance: they could raise the prices without the data, right? Would car insurance getting more expensive be characterized as “screwing you”? That sounds valid, and you’re not a corporation that sells something people forced to buy, but it sounds like your problem is with auto insurance.
- bluefirebrand 2y ago> Would car insurance getting more expensive be characterized as “screwing you” Insurance is highly regulated in most places to prevent frivolous price increases, so.. yes. Absolutely it would be "screwing you", which is why it got regulated
- j33zusjuice 2y agoYou’re forced to buy car insurance in the US, and the insurance business is all kinds of fucked here. Fines for not having car insurance are massive, and driving without it can lead to jail time (idk the circumstances that trigger this). I think the point is that a consumer’s insurance rate may go up based on an arbitrary KPI the insurance company chose, of which the consumer was not necessarily (made) aware, based on information the consumer never opted to share, information that comes with a considerable lack of context, no less. We’re not necessarily talking about accidents, or breaking laws, either. It’s determined by the insurance company using proprietary algorithms, and you have no recourse if your rates go up. It’s privatized tyranny.
- Retr0id 2y agoIt's deeply ironic that this webpage wants me to give it my email address and card details before letting me read the rest of the article. https://archive.is/Th5vB https://archive.is/Th5vB
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- paxys 2y agoThat's called paying for things, and isn't ironic in the slightest.
- Retr0id 2y agoI buy things without giving away my personal information all the time.
- paxys 2y agoHow do you pay for things online without sending over details of a payment instrument?
- TimeBearingDown 2y agoBitcoin or Ether from a new subaddress. Monero for more privacy, or use the former currencies after exchanging from Monero.
- moffkalast 2y agoMaybe they should be asking people to mail them cash.
- paxys 2y agoAnd how do you tie that cash back to an online account?
- resource_waste 2y agoI mentally pass on the security to the organizations who think SSNs and birthdays are good enough to give you loans. Their fault for not doing additional checks like water bills, face matching, etc... Im more concerned that my writing style is the same as when I was a 13 year old Republikan lover and die hard believer posting on gamefaqs, reddit, facebook, etc.... I'm ~20 years older and those are some embarrassing things associated with an old username. I'm sure AI will connect the dots using stories I posted and writing styles. I have a story about coke and mentos I posted for decades. THAT coke mentos story is going to be what unravels my US presidential campaign.
- haroldship 2y agohttps://archive.is/EzrFt https://archive.is/EzrFt
- hnpolicestate 2y agoI leased my 3rd Mazda in a row this past spring and you have no idea the battle I had with the salesperson over his insistence I install connected services on my phone. Took less than a minute reading the TOS to know to stay the hell away from it and Mazda's ability to sell my data to 3rd parties. He tells me "you won't be able to remote start without it, warm your car up in the winter". He only gave up when I told him I'll just leave if forced to install. I also turned off connected services from the cars infotainment screen but I get a prompt to turn back on every time I start the car. Who knows if any of this actually makes a difference. They may still be collecting my driving data and selling it without my consent.
- bluefirebrand 2y ago> Who knows if any of this actually makes a difference. They may still be collecting my driving data and selling it without my consent One of the worst outcomes is going to be "if you don't let us collect your data then we have to set your insurance prices high because you're an unknown" I think this is pretty likely to happen. The same way if hiring managers can't find your LinkedIn or Facebook they might think that's suspicious behavior instead of just privacy conscious
- hnpolicestate 2y agoYes. But I think they dislike both for different reasons. Suspicious employees/customers and privacy conscious employees/customers. The former is understandable but the latter presents a risk because it's harder to fully know a closed book, harder to exploit a closed book. What's he/she thinking? It's sad having to treat every institution one deals with on a day to day basis as an adversary by default, but I think we have enough evidence to justify it.
- 0x1ch 2y agoI recently moved and uHaul will now scan your ID and face with A.I to save it into their system. I took a selfie with the employee in my background who denied my requests to skip this verification step. They did not like that, wonder why.