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2 3 T From the Editor The 4th amendment of the U.S. Constitution reads as follows: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated...”In other words, according to the Founding Fathers,we Ameri- cans have an inalienable right to privacy–our personal “papers”and “effects”cannot be taken from us without our consent.And yet, today, in the digital world in which we live, nothing is private, anymore. Our personal information is everywhere, whether we like it or not. Businesses collect email addresses and more during registra- tion for rewards cards and store promotions. Hobbies, interests, and day-to-day routines are captured from social media posts, search engine queries, and GPS tracking. Retailers are notified,via Bluetooth and GPS,when you enter their store,what your income is and how much time you’ll probably spend shopping.Your smartphone is basically a little mini tracking device; it’s collecting information about where you are traveling throughout the day as it’s on in your pocket or purse. Every time you surf the web, log into a website, open a new account, fill out a survey, answer a questionnaire, or provide information –it is being collected, often with your name or other easily identifiable personal information attached. Even without your name, IP addresses and other markers can be used to tie what you do today to other information already assem- bled about you. Social networking sites collect heaps of personal information,including ages,friends,and interests, when you sign up and spend time browsing. And even thoughwewillingly,and perhaps naively,give up some of that information,much is also collectedwithout us being aware of it.For instance,Facebook’s“Like”andTwitter’s“Tweet” buttons,whichmost websites embed in order to allowvisitors to like or followtheir page,carrya code that allows the social-networking compa- nies to trackusers’movements even if theydo not click those buttons. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. If you are online, rest assured that you are being watched, recorded, tracked, and profiled.And this is not how it was supposed to be.The Inter- net was originally envisioned by its progenitors to help provide equal access to information. Even the inventor of the WorldWide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, believes that cyberspace, today, is “a huge,massive invasion of privacy.” The way we use the Internet makes it more than likely that someone out there knows more about you than you do! And, that’s because the vast majority of the data that is mined, stored, and analyzed is done so for the purpose of reselling it. Data is knowl- edge, knowledge is power, and power invariably turns into money. Data mining companies build huge dossiers on individuals and then use them to create lists based on medications, travel history, net worth, and any other criteria you can think of. Random bits of information can be pieced together to determine things like religion, political views, and even sexual ori- entation.These lists are then sold to whoever thinks they can profit from the knowledge they contain. Recent estimates put the data broking industry at over $300 billion globally,with more than 3 million employed in the U.S., alone. While it is a given that data can be an aid to both businesses and consumers-data mining helps businesses understand who is most likely to respond to newmarketing campaigns and the best way to reach them; consumers are offered goods and services that are targeted to their likes and desires-the problem arises when sensitive data is lost, stolen, or sold to bad actors.With only a few bits of information, black-hats can easily steal your ID and clean out your bank account. In fact, according to a recent survey, some 64% of Americans report that they have personally experienced a major data breach; 41% have encountered fraudulent charges on their credit cards; 35%have received notices that some type of sensitive information (like an account number) had been compromised; 16%say that someone has taken over their email accounts; 13%say someone has taken over one of their social media accounts; 15%have received notices that their Social Securitynumber had been compromised; 14%say that someone has attempted to take out loans or lines of credit in their name; and 6%say that someone has impersonated them in order to file a fraudulent tax return. With the recent revelations that the personal information of over 50 million Facebook users may have been surreptitiously harvested and then “weaponized”by a political consulting firm in order to influence the 2016 Presidential elec- tion, it may be time for Congress to revisit the whole subject of what constitutes Americans’ “papers”and “effects”in an effort to re-ener- gize and re-implement our 4th Amendment protections against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Al Krulick Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Al Krulick Associate Editor Lorie Steiner Director of Advertising Lauren Blackwell Research Directors Paul Payne Brendan McElroy Josh Conklin Lisa Curry Joanna Whitney Digital Strategist Scott Mosquera Alyson Casey Director of Administration Creative Director Dana Long Vice President of Business Development Erin O’Donoghue Vice President of Publishing Andre Barefield CGO Alexander Wynne-Jones COO Brian Andersen Executive Publisher / CEO Marcus VandenBrink USA Canada Caribbean Oceania Email for all inquiries: info@businessviewmagazine.com WWW.BUSINESSVIEWMAGAZINE.COM 12559 New Brittany Blvd Fort Myers, 33907 239.220.5554 CONTACT US