Weaponization of Data

  • If data can be  weaponized, it’ll be weaponized.
  • Every citizen will have its own data weaponized against them.
  • Scope of target: wider means a more invasive data collection. With a focalized target, there’s no need for detailed data, just metadata is enough.
  • The objective is control to extract profits by corps, or political control by state and non-state actors to manage dissent.
  • This is not a left vs right issue. It’s a citizens vs elites issue.
  • This is an asymmetrical relationship for control, any attempts to fight this trend by individual citizens is doomed to fail. Sousveillance is only effective as art/propaganda.
  • Opaque algorithms and AI are being deployed to collect, process and weaponize data against citizens.
  • Countermeasures like cryptography, obfuscation are only partially effective.
  • The more effective the countermeasure, the less convenient for citizens.
  • The only effective strategies are transparency and a legal and technical framework that takes a privacy-by-default approach.
  • Our data should always be our property and our choice.