The end of privacy

Collectively, the 400 million Europeans have already left 50 billion online internet tracks. Linking together all of that different data and using it to produce a business model is becoming one of the big trends of the 21st century. Soon there will be no more secrets. Coma profiles But the flip-side of this advancement is becoming evident. Technology has transcended the human dimension. People do not realise that their PC, telephone, refrigerator, pacemaker and car talk to one another about their owners. Neighbourhood quarrels are now thrashed out on social networking sites and almost no-one has laid down rules for what will happen to their Facebook profile, Hotmail account or the rest of their digital inheritance should they die unexpectedly. This results in old social media profiles becoming coma profiles or digital orphans. Come back of paper Knowledge is power, and that is since time immemorial. But in the near future companies will obtain more knowledge than ever before about other companies and consumers. Citizens will be able to keep better track of one another's comings and goings. The paper-based back-up will make a come-back and internet security will become an immense growth market. A brilliant 17-year-old hacker will soon earn more than a 50-year-old top banker. Soon, using contact lenses, the appearance of your loved one will change every hour. The digital touter is on the horizon, and digital arrest too. There will be more ID fraud and that will have an impact on peoples confidence in one another and in organisations and authorities. Now that more than 50% of crime is internet-related, there should no longer be police on the streets but more police on the internet. How will we deal with all of that? Trendwatcher Adjiedj Bakas made a tour of the security, HR and IT industries and wrote an inspiring and challenging book about internet security and digital identity in the coming decades. References Adjiedj Bakas is an original and innovative thinker. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte When I hear Adjiedj Bakas read, I always immediately see the speck on the horizon. My eyes start to shine and I get dimples in my cheeks, because he uses so much humour in his work. He always makes me pause for thought. Ivo Opstelten, Dutch Minister of Security & Justice This book makes a significant contribution to the continuing social debate about the importance of privacy in the information society. Anthony House, Privacy Expert/Head of Privacy Policy & Communications, Google Europe