A Look at The Hacking Scandal at Sony

A Glimpse into the Illusion of Privacy

“Delete, delete, delete. That’s a bit of your humanity being snuffed out” (Bruni, 2014). After reading the article, “Hacking Our Humanity: Sony, Security and the End of Privacy” by Frank Bruni, I can say that I completely agree with the ideas Bruni mentions and illustrates in his article. I too, feel that our “privacy” isn’t really as private as we may think it is. In fact, I don’t think we have much “privacy” anymore at all if we even have any.

A Look at The Hacking Scandal at Sony

According to Bruni (2014), “You can no longer assume that what’s meant to be seen by only one other individual won’t find its way to hundreds, thousands, even millions. That sort of privacy is a quaint relic.” One may think that their forms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram are private based on the settings they have set. However, those platforms are never truly private. These forms of social media and sites that were intended to be private can easily be hacked into, and important posts and information that were meant to only be seen by a select community, are now out in the open for all to see and read. This erosion of privacy is not just limited to traditional social media platforms; it extends to newer forms as well.

Another example of a new form of social media that people believe to be 100 percent private is the app, Snapchat. This fairly new app, which is known for taking pictures and then the photo being automatically erased and never to be seen again after 10 seconds of viewing, guarantees what they claim as total privacy. Many people have used this app to send inappropriate photos that were only meant to be seen or viewed once, and they are now coming back to haunt them forever because the photo was never really deleted. Many of these photos are backed up into a database now, and this app allows hackers much easier access to a victim’s location and information through their cell phone.

From the Sony Hacking Scandal, many are fearful of documents they may have on their computer, along with the things they search into Google or Bing and also the websites that they may have looked at or even purchased from because of the personal information that comes along with that. Everyone has the right to be fearful of these things, and after the recent scandal that Bruni discusses and that had impacted our society and the lives of so many, everyone should be fearful. Everything we say or do is being monitored whether we realize it or not, and we should not just simply fear this occurring on our laptops and computers. Our portable and mobile devices such as tablets, iPads, iPods, and cell phones are just as susceptible if not even more.

The Implications of Evolving Technology

Technology continues to grow and evolve, and there are so many new devices that are being created each week. According to President Obama, “The hackers are going to get better” (Obama, 2014) and with the advance in our technology, there will be an even greater advance in the breach of security and privacy because of these hackers. Because of these continuous and also the growing number of hacking scandals and the threat of hackers continuing to grow and improve with the latest technology that comes out, we as people and our society as a whole face many implications. One of the major implications that we face because of this fear is self-censorship. People live in constant fear that what they type or what they say will one day end up being seen by the wrong person or being taken the wrong way, and in turn, that can result in negative consequences for them. People fear so much for what they say, do or even type and this implicates our society greatly because it is killing the creativity that we as humans generate.

To be human, we have to be able to express ourselves and be creative and free. This is something that we are supposed to be guaranteed. However, if we are too afraid and live in constant fear of being ourselves and not expressing our real ideas, thoughts, and visions, then we truly cannot be ourselves. More importantly, when we are forced to cut off and kill creativity, that is truly when our “humanity is being snuffed out.” This fear of expression can stifle innovation and progress, ultimately hindering the evolution of society itself.

In the words of the powerful, late Michael Jackson, “you are never alone.” His words remind us that despite the digital intrusions and the loss of privacy, the essence of our humanity is our ability to connect and share authentically with one another.

References:

• Bruni, F. (2014). Hacking Our Humanity: Sony, Security and the End of Privacy.
• Obama, B. (2014). The hackers are going to get better. [Speech].