Data and Goliath
by Bruce Schneier · first published 2015
27mentions
10recommended by
19HN commenters
2015–2023first – last mentioned
53% recommend42% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Offers a calm, levelheaded overview of mass surveillance and how personal data is collected, sold and used to control people. It serves as a solid general primer on privacy harms.
Common criticism: One commenter criticized the audiobook edition as an incomplete reading.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A primarily U.S.-centric view of the who, what and why of massive data surveillance at the time of the book's publication (2015).
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…Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World - Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World - Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust that Society Needs to Thrive - Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Schneier
on “The Mirai Botnet Was Part of a College Student Minecraft Scheme” ↗A lot of how personal data is collected and sold is detailed in Bruce Schneier's "Data and Goliath" (http://www.amazon.com/Data-Goliath-Battles-Collect-Control/d...) and confirms what you're saying.
on “How your data is collected and commoditised via “free” online services” ↗…same covert attacks that were blamed on China, Russia etc. Only the really naïve were surprised by this. The mass surveillance of their own citizens is a different matter. Bruce Schneier's latest book 'Data and Goliath' examines the implications of mass surveillance in a calm, levelheaded manner. He also outlines detailed, and realistic, solutions that recognize the benefits of data- mining and covert surveillance while…
on “US hit by 'massive data breach'” ↗…“Metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life. If you have enough meta data you don’t really need content.” For more uncomfortable and scary revelations like this, I recommend checking out Data and Goliath by Bruce Schneier.
on “Help, I’m Trapped in Facebook’s Absurd Pseudonym Purgatory” ↗…similar sites (or on FB itself), and that the Facebook cookies/trackers connected the two of you? Disclaimer: I am not connected to the tech world professionally; I'm just a bystander. Step 1. Read Data and Goliath by Bruce Schneier. Step 2. Delete your Facebook account.
on “Facebook Friends suggest is getting creepy” ↗"Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World" It was a bit over the top but I'd recommend reading it anyway.
on “Ask HN: What good books have you read lately?” ↗…that are easy to find. Furthermore, they can't really have good privacy unless everyone does. For a general case of the harms of privacy invasion, I recommend reading relevant chapters off of Schneier's Data and Goliath. Brilliant book.
on “Google Has Dropped Ban on Personally Identifiable Web Tracking” ↗Data and Goliath - Bruce Schneier (very good, preaching to the choir in my case though) Dune - Frank Herbert (been waiting more than 20 years to read this. If you haven't seen the movie from 2001 highly recommended,…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗> The privacy problem at its core is a political one, and it needs a political solution. I'm with you --- my views are pretty much in agreement this, and with Schneier in Data and Goliath. However, while legislation and regulation are the only things that will prevent us from full-blown monopolistic dystopia, there are meaningful ways in which technologists can make privacy preserving…
on “The Privacy Revolution that never came” ↗Exactly. Bruce Schneier - Data and Goliath.
on “New documents reveal scale of US Government’s cell phone location data tracking” ↗…make the business models that involve massively surveilling people the less compelling ones, simply by making certain business practices illegal. Some of his other essays as well as his most recent book Data and Goliath also covers the subject (and also addresses solutions though the solutions are unfortunately not easy; they're difficult). In one of the chapters he suggests taking a smartphone with you is a conscious…
on “Early Facebook and Google Employees Form a Center for Humane Technology” ↗I feel you; I talk about it quite a bit because it is of interest, and well it affects us all. I even tried to get my sister to read the book "Data and Goliath" by Peter Schneier and she only read about 5 pages book marked it and had it sitting for a month. . .it is futile; Once I got an unusual call about someone being in jail. . .etc etc. I was concerned it…
on “Governments Turn to Commercial Spyware to Intimidate Dissidents” ↗…partly voluntarily. Is it desirable? You should decide on that on a case-by-case scenario. Schneier wrote several essays on this matter (here's one [1] and a more recent one [2]) and his latest book, Data and Goliath also covers this subject. Interestingly the more we centralise on our smartphones, the more difficult voluntarily leaving it home becomes. We already put all kind of NFC cards like our bank and public…
on “Apple health data used in murder trial” ↗…slightly different angle, also less extreme one way or the other. We still have some privacy left. You can, for example, wilfully leave your smartphone home as Bruce Schneier wrote in his latest book Data and Goliath. We have that choice. His essay Data Is a Toxic Asset, So Why Not Throw It Out? [1] also covers this very topic. Because that also covers how others should treat your private data, something the EU is…
on “Naked Europe covers up” ↗Mass surveillance does not stop terrorism effectively. Bruce Schneier wrote a book called Data and Goliath and touches on the subject a bit. Simply to many false positives are detected. But how will governments decrypt communications you say? Simple, they hack the devices performing the communication,…
on “Supreme Court to hear petition seeking ban on WhatsApp” ↗