Spying with Servers

June 8, 2013 — 4 Comments

When we receive the news that servers are being used to analyze our communication there is no reason to be shocked. A wire tap by any other name would smell as foul.  The purpose of big data is big analysis.  If you think technology is virtuous, or if you think it is inherently evil you are missing the point. Every advance in technology has been tried and often improved by spies.  Think of all the magic of James Bond and his low tech super powers.  Does espionage happen because honorable people want to learn more about the activities of their neighbors?  Certainly not.  Defense includes what is classified as intelligence.  If the US declares a war on anything ( drugs, terror, etc) they ride the interstate commerce laws right up into everyone’s business. Our government protects Monsanto and their ilk without batting an eye, because that is the power that is reigning at the moment.

In the spy game everyone wants the coolest and most able spies, but that can’t be possible for every country.  Some will have current tech, and others will rely on ancient systems of corruption to procure data.  Propaganda supports spying as protection of the population.  It is more likely to be protection of a certain status quo. Politics, cartoons, and reality do overlap, gentle readers.