“Security through obscurity” definition: not bothering to protect privacy or provide security; instead, simply hoping that nobody figures it out.
It’s a technique that doesn’t work, but that hasn’t stopped many government agencies and a surprising number of corporations from using it anyway.
The story: a Virginia Judge has ruled that Betty “BJ” Ostergren’s website could not be censored. You see, her web site re-published Social Security Numbers that were found on public online documents.
Let me restate this: there are many private SSN numbers published by the government on the web. Anyone can see them.
The government published the SSN’s on the web, but hoped nobody would notice or look for them. Or, more importantly, nobody would use them for identity fraud. Security through obscurity.
She thought that this was horrible, so she started to point it out. BTW, she didn’t publish everyone’s SSN number. She hand-chose them. Those of, say, Senators and other public officials. The reaction?
One would think that the reaction would be to have the government stop making those SSN numbers public. That must have been too hard. So, instead, the Virginia congress passed a law that censored BJ’s web site. The ACLU got involved and the Virginia court then ruled that the law was unconstitutional.
Thoughts? BTW, if you want Senator Puller’s SSN, visit here.
Oops, now I’ve done it.