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I heard a funny story today about the leak of a company secret. It wasn't an important secret like some kind of intellectual property topic, but it was a secret nonetheless, that would have been released company-wide in a few weeks from now. For most people, it still is a secret, but I assume that it isn't going to last long, as the watercooler conversations spread like fire. 

The funny part is that it was the legal team who slipped the secret, as the were quietly discussing it in the café. It isn't the kind of thing that has legal ramifications, but they were involved in part of the discussions. And of course, someone overheard them.

> Secrets are never secret forever.

![Hanna blue top (4 of 31).jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/tarazkp/244UvJFDzndWJ9tNnevhGNzGxyREJ8xCyC6ZRwtYpygfxvjs7RNmk7b8BQmU8MM7iuBaG.jpg)

Which is also why we should assume that no matter how protected we feel, our own secrets are also going to come out, including our data. However, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't be security conscious, quite the opposite. And it is always a tradeoff, because the most secure, is usually the most difficult to use, the most unwieldy, the slowest. And the most convenient, is often the least secure. 

For instance, physical gold is valuable, because it can't be replicated and has scarcity. But, as a currency in today's modern world, it is very inconvenient to store, transport and trade. Plus, keeping it safe requires well, a safe, and depending on the amount, a lot of physical, round the clock security. 

Currently though, data itself is highly valuable, not because of what it contains, but what it buys access to. Perhaps people don't think about the data they generate in these terms normally, but the data that the collectors scrape from us through all of our activity, is valueless other than it being a gateway to us, and our networks. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok don't give a fuck about the content, what they are interested in is how the network can be utilized for profit and gain. The collected data provides gateways to leverage and increase profits. 

When we protect our personal data, like a social security number in some countries, it is because that piece of data can be used to gain access to something of value, like a bank account, or the registration of a phone connection. Which in turn could be used to open some other type of account using it as some kind of verification. That verification gains access to... and the list goes on. The more convenient our digital lives get, the more insecure our points of data become and that means, the more value there is in obtaining it, because it becomes easier to use. 

Of course, technology is also changing, so that convenience doesn't necessarily reduce security in the moment, but over time, those who are able to benefit from the information find new ways to obtain it. This creates a constant cat and mouse game between those looking to build a secure model to protect, those looking to break the security model for gain.

While this game continues, what is abundantly clear is, centralized organizations are *terrible* at keeping secrets safe. Everything leaks eventually, not only because of ineptitude, but also because of internal competition, where undermining from the inside takes place. For instance, the opposition of a government that is elected for four years at a time, will look to air the secrets of the current organization to gain support. Plus, if they get in to the government themselves, they will dismantle what was built, as well as change all of the staff involved. Due to the sheer size and complication of the system, errors are going to happen, and thousands of cracks will undermine security.

And similar to the funny story from work, the biggest risk factor for security, are the people involved. We might be fearful by nature, but we aren't necessarily security conscious in ways that fit the world we have created. And, a lot of the problem lies in our nature anyway, as we like shortcuts, heuristics, and convenience.

> We aren't good at keeping secrets. 

And while we often talk about "the government", *it* is not a thing, other than a group of people who are not only fallible, but perhaps even more so because they have an agenda to harm others. Again, average people might not think about governments that often in this way, but unfortunately, governments aren't acting to protect their citizens, instead, they are looking to harm their enemies. Foreign and domestic. As well as idealistic. 

> Another tradeoff. 

Our data is a tradeable commodity, which means our identity is tradeable also, because that gives access to our data. While there are many ways to verify identity, face to face is the hardest to fake. As we move increasingly into digital verification for user convenience, it also opens increasing methods for *abuser convenience.* 

While there is no perfectly secure system other than nature itself, I don't think that centralized security systems offered by governments that are constantly bickering and infighting is going to offer anywhere near the best protections for data, or for anything else for that matter. 

But the biggest risk of governments managing our security, is that once they have it all in their hands, they are going to use it to squeeze more out for themselves. Because every time they take some, they get that much hungrier, and that much more abusive. 

They don't even hide it.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]

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