Posts Tagged ‘privacy’

Googling you medical records?! You must be joking!

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Rod of Asclepius

Google unveils personal medical record service, claiming that it would bring more control of medical records to patients by providing centralized facility to control oneself records. In other terms, we would be able to login to that service and have a look in our medical records. So why would we need to look at our own medical records. The first thing that strikes me of course is who else could have a look at my own medical record. Google said, it would be password protected. How strong would that password be? It is up to each one of us to choose. Are we going to get alarmed if someone tries to brute-force our medical history records?

The advantage of this service, according to Google would be the central storage of now dispersed data. And Google promise not to use any advertising on accessing medical records, but when people do some other medical related searches.

Whenever I visit my doctor and get prescription I am wondering how pharmacist is able to decrypt those scribbles where hardly any letter could be identified. I frankly prefer that it stays like this, and that medical data is managed by those that need access to it, and it definitely not patients but medical service.

What does search engine has to do with storing and managing information? Give me please just one good reason…

Can “Google sites” become your company sites?

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

In todays Web news we can read about the new service from Google called Google sites. It is announced as one stop sharing for team information. In news its mostly compared with Microsoft SharePoint but to my surprise not with the one single open-source solution. Why not comparing it to WordPress, Joomla, Drupal or Plone?

Media reports that Google sites actually targets companies. I am not sure how would companies that have viable security policy ensure compliance while sharing information on externally hosted service at Google. While it can be perfectly good for sport clubs, schools, friends, I would be cautious to adopt it for any corporate data unless the Google’s privacy policy complies with client company’s Information Security Policy. Or Google is providing an option to sign a confidentiality statement and non-disclosure agreement with every client company?

In 2006, I have visited Google and amongst products demonstrated was Google calendar. I’ve raised the issue of privacy and personal information security that has triggered a discussion of how to provide free and open services for masses, maintain privacy and yet implement a lucrative business model backed with advertising. Even Internet evangelist like Mr. Vint Cerf agreed that the Internet should remain open and not become inhibitor to creativity.

Who tubes? Pakistan unblocks YouTube…

Wednesday, February 27th, 2008

After couple of days of cyber-retorics on the Internet security and privacy, Pakistani government decided to unblock the YouTube (read my previous message here) claiming that incriminating video has been removed. So YouTube removed the video in order to stay on-line? Or in order not to offense anyone? Both reasons are valid. There are many offensive material on the Internet but not all of that on so popular sites like YouTube. In fact, sites like YouTube build their popularity by making waves. In the case of some mass media companies its their journalists, in the case of YouTube and similar, it’s citizen journalists (or at least this is what we think, but we can not know). I am only wondering if an ordinary cybernaut asks YouTube to remove an offensive material would that be done so quickly? I’d still prefer sharing my own videos on my own web site.