Of note:
Just to show us that the national security state doesn't lack for a wicked sense of ironic humor, I see this DARPA topic in the new SBIR
solicitation out today:
“Investigate the national security threat posed by public data available either for purchase or through open sources. Based on
principles of data science, develop tools to characterize and assess the nature, persistence, and quality of the data. Develop tools for
the rapid anonymization and de-anonymization of data sources. Develop framework and tools to measure the national security impact of public data and to defend against the malicious use of public data against national interests.”
(Personally, I'd recommend (1) re-engineering government to see openness as less of a threat, and to focus on making vulnerable
systems, where the government has a responsibility, less so, e.g., ratchet back stock trading so it's not the province of millisecond
traders and flash crashes, but actually first serves the need for capital investment; and (2) giving *everyone*, and not just the state,
more privacy in their transactions on what are essentially common carriers… this “metadata” being snarfed up by the NSA is data about *me*, and I want to pay Verizon to complete my phone calls, not to be in the “information about me” business.)
