Technology advanced, but is it worth the privacy threat?

1. Beyond Sense
www.beyond-sense.com Written by Beyond-Sense team
Technology has evolved in recent years and it is becoming
integrated in our lives in our day to day activities.
As people continue adopting the new technology, the more
they become comfortable with enjoying its advantages
without realizing the effects and risk the technology has on
their privacy.
Storage of personal data in our computers, cloud services
and phones has created a security risk in case intruders
access the personal data.
Legal issues with data privacy
In the same way, security agencies have resulted in using
CCTV cameras in public places to help reduce crime and
terrorist related activities. However, activists are against such moves because they invade people’s privacy.
Currently, in the UK, activists have raised issues because retained vehicle number plate surveillance data from
2012 have been kept for more than the recommended 2 years. The activists argue that the police are not allowed
by law to retain that kind of data for more than 2 years without a valid explanation. This kind of incidents creates a
security challenge in case such kind of information is hacked.
Storage of personal data in our computers, cloud services and phones
has created a security risk in case intruders access the personal data.
Home CCTV Surveillance: A Nightmare to People’s Privacy
Disadvantages of home based CCTV surveillance
One major disadvantage with home CCTV camera is
data security where security surveillance companies
nowadays prefer to store data in the cloud to cut down
on costs. Use of cloud storage brings privacy issues in
case the cloud is hacked. Privacy issues also arise due
to the fact that there is no restriction on who is
supposed to be monitoring the security cameras. On
top of these, wireless cameras use Wi-FI which can be
hacked leading to stealing of data and loss of privacy,
the same could be an issue with hackers entering home
or office servers. According to a police report in Dubai,
they had closed down several foreign websites that
were streaming in home CCTV footage which exposed
people to blackmail.
With rise in cybersecurity incidences, people should take precaution when adopting new technology. Proper
security measures should be put in place to protect CCTV surveillance network against intruders and hackers.
We see it in many cases, the most famous incidents published are of course when celebrity pictures are being
hacked and published online, however this happens in many other regular cases.
Home based CCTV surveillance
Apart from the security agencies, people have
adopted the use in home CCTV cameras to secure
mainly the outside proximity of their homes and
businesses. Also, people install CCTV cameras in
their homes to monitor activities in case they have
left their kids or old ones under the care of a nanny.
Hackers can enter hack into those servers and
download pictures as we have seen from time to
time on the news. However, despite the numerous
benefits accrued with use of in home CCTV
cameras, the rise of cybersecurity issues has diluted
those benefits.