Forensic insights from
the world's most experienced
privacy advocate.
By Simon Davies Any company that has a data protection officer or privacy adviser will understand the fundamental risks of bad data management. Keeping too much customer information – and for too long. Failing to provide even basic security measures. Risking data breaches because of poor staff training and support. These are obvious 1.0.1 aspects …
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By Simon Davies Back in 2005, an entrepreneur by the name of Barry Stapleton came up with an ingenious plan to automatically ward off “unruly” children and young people loitering around high-end retail shops. Stapleton’s idea was to build an ultrasonic device that could be heard only by people under the age of 25 (the …
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By Simon Davies Russia’s quest to prohibit personal freedoms has reached a level that many people may not yet comprehend. The past year has seen the persecution of a vast spectrum of human rights that extend way beyond the digital domain.The past few months, in particular, have also seen the further deterioration of Russia’s global …
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By Simon Davies A new mood of civility is emerging across Europe. You can see it in the faces and attitude of people in Paris, Berlin and even sour-faced Switzerland. But the trend is most pronounced in Brussels, previously the butt of everyone’s jokes about bad hospitality. There was a time, not so long ago, …
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By Simon Davies Many readers will have encountered the “Microsoft critical alert” virus on their browsers. This tech support scam hijacks your browser with an audio pop-up that loudly advises you to call a “toll free” number with the threat that failure to do so will result in your computer being disabled. The more …
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By Simon Davies To understand the value of our rights, it’s important to get a glimpse of what life in the future might be like without them. This is a letter from the future that tells us what life in 2044 might look like – and why we should think carefully about the path we …
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By Simon Davies There are dozens of reasons why any smart Netizen might want to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. These facilities allow you to enjoy an online Level Playing Field, avoiding censorship and dodging bad players such as trackers and malicious hackers. The idea is simple. A VPN will mask your location …
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By Simon Davies A few weeks ago, I posted a blog on the Privacy Surgeon about my recent experiences during coma and clinical death. I thought at the time that this move was a little self-indulgent, but hey! This is – after all – a site dedicated to aspects of privacy, and that chapter of …
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By Simon Davies David Hume famously noted “It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.” America is starting to wake up to that sage observation. One of its most precious liberties – the ballot box – is suffering Death by a Thousand Cuts. In the beginning, this execution was committed …
Read More...The PrivacySurgeon is owned and operated by Simon Davies - Initial design by Scarab Designs Ltd - Implementation, coding and maintenance by Jim & Pete.
