It's been an interesting week in the world of Internet news. Websites such as Wikipedia protested proposed anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA, and they won. This morning it was announced that the FBI shut down one of the world's most popular file-sharing sites, Megaupload. Then hackers "Anonymous" promptly retaliated with an attack on Justice Department public websites. Quite a week for Internet drama! Apparently piracy is the new black.
This week I had some personal drama regarding another internet-related concern that starts with P: Privacy.
About a year ago I purchased a household gadget that merged technology and health: a Withings WiFi bathroom scale. I've been diligently weighing in (almost) daily and building up a database of the losses(and - over the holidays - gains) of my weight and BMI. The nifty scale automatically uploads my numbers to the website, and I can look at the charts and graphs online whenever I like. (For the record, I love it!)
But when I tried to log into my account this week, I was unsuccessful. My password worked intermittently, and when it did work, I still couldn't get to my dashboard of data. Then I noticed a small message on the login page that Withings was experiencing "a vicious attack" on their servers. They hoped that service would get back to normal very soon.
Hackers! Trying to get to the year-long history of my weight gains and losses and BMI! Whaaaaaaaaaaat?
Horrors!!!!
Sure, hackers have stolen my credit card information and bought airline tickets to Arabian countries. That little thing has all been taken care of. My bank sends me a new check card fairly regularly with a note that a database somewhere was hacked. No problem. Sure, I have a lot of personal information about myself "out there" online - probably more than most. I realize there is a certain amount of risk in submitting information on the Internet.
But a log of the past year of the ups and downs of my personal weight and BMI going public? That's a whole new level of problem.
Okay, yes, I'm being overly dramatic and there's no proof any data was actually stolen. But the concept of my weight data being stolen, held for ransom, being published online, or used for blackmail have all crossed my mind more than once this week.
I don't know much about the progress of electronic medical records. I know it's a huge task and I know its going slow. I understand the incredible benefits that having all of ones' health information in one place could bring. But this weeks' drama has also had me thinking a little more carefully about if I would want all my information "out there," in records that were supposedly private, with the chance of going public thanks to hackers and attackers.
Makes me a teensy bit nervous. Just sayin'.
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