New technology protecting more privacy

Atlantic Monthly cover story on privacy             Back to NCPA Debate Home Page

The Reinvention of Privacy It used to be that business and technology were considered the enemies of privacy. Not anymore by Toby Lester  The March 2001 issue of The Atlantic Monthly has a long article on the many ways new privacy-protecting technology is being developed and marketed. After listing the many recent books on the end of privacy, Lester notes: "But something very interesting is happening: the market for goods and services that protect privacy is surging. Entrepreneurs are realizing that privacy and technology are not fundamentally at odds&emdash;and that, in fact, expectations of privacy have in large measure always been created or broadened by the arrival of new technologies. People are coming to accept the notion that the protection of privacy is a pervasive and lasting concern in the computer age&emdash;and that, indeed, it may turn out to be the true enabler of the information economy." To read the article on the Atlantic Monthly web site click here. The article does a good job of describing the ways new technology has raised concerns about privacy, and then describing the new technologies offered by companies to deal with these concerns. ----- The Atlantic Online also includes an interview with Steven Levy, the author of Crypto. Highly recommended for an overview of cryptography and privacy: "Open Secrets An e-mail interview with Steven Levy, the author of Crypto: When the Code Rebels Beat the Government&emdash;Saving Privacy in the Digital Age Until the twentieth century, cryptography&emdash;the scrambling of messages to make them obscure to everybody except an intended recipient&emdash;was a relatively straightforward business, based on principles used since antiquity" ... Click here for full article/interview.