Technocreep

sub-heading:
The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy
$18.00

Adding to cart… The item has been added
  • 224 pages
  • Paperback ISBN 9781939293404
  • E-book ISBN 9781939293411
  • Publication August 2014

about the book

"Technology is rapidly moving into our bodies", writes cyber expert Keenan, "and this book gives a chilling look ahead into where that road may lead us – on a one way trip to the total surrender of privacy and the commoditization of intimacy". Here is the definitive dissection of privacy-eroding and life-invading technologies, coming at you from governments, corporations, and the person next door.

Take, for example, the furor over "Girls Around Me": a Russian-made iPhone App that allowed anyone to scan the immediate vicinity for girls and women who checked in on Foursquare and had poorly secured Facebook profiles. It combined this information in a way never intended by the original poster. Going to a Disney theme park? Your creepy new "MagicBand" will alert Minnie Mouse that you're on the way and she'll know your kid's name when you approach her. Thinking about sending your DNA off to Ancestry.com for some "genetic genealogy"? Perhaps you should think again: your genetic information could be used against you.

One of the world's top computer security experts, Keenan helped the Canadian government write its computer crime laws in 1983, and co-wrote the award-winning CBC series on cybercrime, "Crimes of the Future". In 2013, he won the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's annual award for science promotion.

Includes a special chapter on how to "de-creep" your digital profile: how to throw governments and corporations off your cyberscent!

"In Technocreep, Dr. Keenan explores some of the most troublesome privacy-invasive scenarios encountered on the web and offers users a number of excellent, practical ideas on how best to protect their privacy and identity online." - Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

"Keenan's vivid explanation of the perils of creepy technologies is both hilarious and terrifying. A great read for those who build systems and an entertaining excursion for anyone who wants to peek under the covers of technology". - Dr. Cullen Jennings, Cisco Fellow

"Thomas P. Keenan has done a wonderful job in threading seemingly disparate ideas into the single notion of 'creep'. This book gives numerous pithy examples of how we arrived at where we are, and where we might be headed". - Dr. Peter G. Neumann, Senior Principal Scientist in the Computer Science Laboratory at SRI International, ACM Risks Forum moderator

About The Author / Editor

Photograph © Riley Brandt/University of Calgary A Fellow of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, Thomas P. Keenan is a frequent contributor to CBC Radio and Television. He writes a men's health column for the Postmedia newspaper chain and is National Technology Correspondent for Business Edge News Magazine. At the University of Calgary, he is Professor of Environmental Design and Adjunct Professor of Computer Science.

Read An Excerpt

Image Creep

I saw Google Glass before it was even a twinkle in Eric Schmidt's eye.

As a technology writer and reviewer, I was sent demo versions of all sorts of products, including some that never made it to market. In the mid 1980s, a package arrived with one of the first heads up television displays aimed at the consumer market. It was set of glasses with a tiny monitor and a prism that allowed you to watch TV while still participating in normal life.

The device, now consigned to the tech dustbin, did give me one moment of profound technocreepiness. I was testing it one night in my university office, using it to watch Sixty Minutes. The cleaning lady came in to empty the trash. I will never forget what happened next. I saw a chimera—an elderly lady's body with Mike Wallace's head grafted on top. I screamed. She screamed. It seemed like a dumb way to watch TV, so I sent the thing back and wrote a lukewarm review: it was also extremely uncomfortable to wear.

The introduction of Google Glass has brought this type of technology literally to the public's eye. All of sudden, people are walking around with a device that enhances their ability to grab information out of the ether. Google Glass wearers can potentially recognize your face as they shake your hand, and then casually glance upwards to retrieve your kid's names and birthdays.

But what really alarms many is that Google Glass can also secretly take a picture, or record a video, and immediately upload it to the Internet, just by the wink of an eye or the raising of an eyebrow. Google Glass does have a light to indicate when it is taking a photo or recording video. People promptly found ways to subvert it.

in the media

Technocreep

sub-heading:
The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy
$18.00

Add to Cart

Adding to cart… The item has been added

about the book

"Technology is rapidly moving into our bodies", writes cyber expert Keenan, "and this book gives a chilling look ahead into where that road may lead us – on a one way trip to the total surrender of privacy and the commoditization of intimacy". Here is the definitive dissection of privacy-eroding and life-invading technologies, coming at you from governments, corporations, and the person next door.

Take, for example, the furor over "Girls Around Me": a Russian-made iPhone App that allowed anyone to scan the immediate vicinity for girls and women who checked in on Foursquare and had poorly secured Facebook profiles. It combined this information in a way never intended by the original poster. Going to a Disney theme park? Your creepy new "MagicBand" will alert Minnie Mouse that you're on the way and she'll know your kid's name when you approach her. Thinking about sending your DNA off to Ancestry.com for some "genetic genealogy"? Perhaps you should think again: your genetic information could be used against you.

One of the world's top computer security experts, Keenan helped the Canadian government write its computer crime laws in 1983, and co-wrote the award-winning CBC series on cybercrime, "Crimes of the Future". In 2013, he won the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's annual award for science promotion.

Includes a special chapter on how to "de-creep" your digital profile: how to throw governments and corporations off your cyberscent!

"In Technocreep, Dr. Keenan explores some of the most troublesome privacy-invasive scenarios encountered on the web and offers users a number of excellent, practical ideas on how best to protect their privacy and identity online." - Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

"Keenan's vivid explanation of the perils of creepy technologies is both hilarious and terrifying. A great read for those who build systems and an entertaining excursion for anyone who wants to peek under the covers of technology". - Dr. Cullen Jennings, Cisco Fellow

"Thomas P. Keenan has done a wonderful job in threading seemingly disparate ideas into the single notion of 'creep'. This book gives numerous pithy examples of how we arrived at where we are, and where we might be headed". - Dr. Peter G. Neumann, Senior Principal Scientist in the Computer Science Laboratory at SRI International, ACM Risks Forum moderator

About The Author / Editor

Photograph © Riley Brandt/University of Calgary A Fellow of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, Thomas P. Keenan is a frequent contributor to CBC Radio and Television. He writes a men's health column for the Postmedia newspaper chain and is National Technology Correspondent for Business Edge News Magazine. At the University of Calgary, he is Professor of Environmental Design and Adjunct Professor of Computer Science.

Read An Excerpt

Image Creep

I saw Google Glass before it was even a twinkle in Eric Schmidt's eye.

As a technology writer and reviewer, I was sent demo versions of all sorts of products, including some that never made it to market. In the mid 1980s, a package arrived with one of the first heads up television displays aimed at the consumer market. It was set of glasses with a tiny monitor and a prism that allowed you to watch TV while still participating in normal life.

The device, now consigned to the tech dustbin, did give me one moment of profound technocreepiness. I was testing it one night in my university office, using it to watch Sixty Minutes. The cleaning lady came in to empty the trash. I will never forget what happened next. I saw a chimera—an elderly lady's body with Mike Wallace's head grafted on top. I screamed. She screamed. It seemed like a dumb way to watch TV, so I sent the thing back and wrote a lukewarm review: it was also extremely uncomfortable to wear.

The introduction of Google Glass has brought this type of technology literally to the public's eye. All of sudden, people are walking around with a device that enhances their ability to grab information out of the ether. Google Glass wearers can potentially recognize your face as they shake your hand, and then casually glance upwards to retrieve your kid's names and birthdays.

But what really alarms many is that Google Glass can also secretly take a picture, or record a video, and immediately upload it to the Internet, just by the wink of an eye or the raising of an eyebrow. Google Glass does have a light to indicate when it is taking a photo or recording video. People promptly found ways to subvert it.

in the media