He was called “the pest who shames companies into fixing security flaws” in a profile in Wired magazine, and was listed as one of “top ten hackers on the internet” by PCWorld, thanks to the influence of his actions on the web.
The American Christopher Soghoian, 30, built this reputation — and a career — denouncing ports in the systems of companies such as Google, Facebook and AT&T, which could be used to reveal the data of its users.
He will come to Brazil for the first time this week to participate in a conference on Human Rights & Technology RightsCon, which will happen next Thursday (May 31st) and Friday in Rio.
“Toxic Model”
He will participate in a panel on “The Future of Online Business Models” on Friday at 11:45. His view on this matter: The current business model on the web does not allow for privacy, and therefore, it should not have a future.
“This model is supported by advertising, by which we receive free services in exchange for our data, and it is toxic and fundamentally incompatible with the protection of our privacy,” said Soghoian by telephone to Folha from Washington where he lives.
“Although we are all using free services, it is a bad deal and we need to consider paying for emails as we pay for phone calls.”
With paying users, this American believes that businesses could (if they want) abandon the storage of private data, because they will not need it anymore to gain profit.
In this way, the sources with which the government regularly watches its citizens will cease to be available.
“Our personal data is more and more in the hands of business, and is helping the government in surveillance. Their roles as facilitators are not well known. My focus has been to explore and expose this relationship.”
Slight Paranoia
Author of the blog Slight Paranoia (paranoia.dubfire.net), Soghoian, describes himself as “basically a hippy.”
“That’s what the majority of people think when they see me. I am a vegetarian, have long hair and a beard, travel by bicycle and only wear a shirt and shorts to my meetings.”
An interest in the legal aspects of online privacy emerged in 2006, after having his house invaded by the FBI. He taught on a site how to get around security in airports with fake boarding passes, so as to expose the weakness in the system. “I have always had problems with authorities. I don’t like to be told what to do.”
Spying is Cheap
Soghoian says that government surveillance is cheaper and more efficient with the advancement of technology and thanks to the support of private industries.
Just a few years ago there was a complex system of surveillance that was much more complex and expensive, and it forced the government to limit its targets.
Today, everyone can be a target because it is cheap to see everyone. In the end, a large part of us are carrying a “secret agent” in our pockets, the smart phone.
“They represent a deal with the devil. We get extremely convenient devices, but they are not working to our benefit. Applications can extract data and send it without consulting us. Businesses can ask our cellphones to show them our locations. The smart phone is like a government secret agent, for which we are paying”
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