IBM and Facebook Say ‘No’ to NSA, So Are We Safe Yet?
On IBM’s blog, the biggest-in-the-world tech company says it has not and will not cooperate with NSA when the feds come knocking. See its privacy policy: http://www.ibm.com/privacy/details/us/en/
If IBM receives a national security subpoena, what will it do? According to the IBM statement, it will fight in court and otherwise. Why does this matter? Some of the world’s largest and most successful corporations work with and through IBM systems, and they pay well for privacy. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/14/us-usa-ibm-dataprotection-idUSBREA2D1R620140314
What’s behind the scenes of IBM privacy protection? Here’s one insight from HFS: IBM’s preferred provider of computers is the Chinese multinational company Lenovo. So where might IBM keep the hardware servicing its cloud? Anyone’s guess, but Chinese computer leaders are helping. http://ibm-lr.blogspot.com
How about Facebook, the biggest-in-the-world social network? According to its Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on a recent FB entry, he says: “When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we’re protecting you against criminals, not our own government.” And Zuckerberg called President Obama directly to complain about it. http://www.reuters.com/subjects/facebook?lc=int_mb_1001
Scariest to many is a Snowden leak about how NSA co-opted 140,000 computers to inject them with spyware. NSA says Snowden’s report is inaccurate. (Yeah, HFS analysts can just imagine how inaccurate; it’s probably many, many more than just 140,000 computers by now.) http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2014/03/nsa-botnet/
So if you want to acquire a new computer someday within the next year or two, how could you go about building it yourself or through a truly trusted source? Do you have to be a tech wizard for that? Could average artists and writers build their own? Or at least, could artists and writers find a truly trusted source?
Not likely, if the latest, greatest quips from IBM and Facebook sound worried, as their message implies.
What do you think?