June 2010 Edition
Computer Science Department, University of Cape Town
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Panopticon of J. Bentham 1787 involves the design of prisons. By arranging the cells in circle (with the guard in the centre) in such a way that the guard can see prisoners but vice versa, the guard needs not even be there all the time. When individuals (in this case, prisoners) believe that they are being watched, they behave differently as they are concern with the observers and what they might think of them.
Many experts think that information gathering is like Panopticon. Information gather itself is not new – governmental and private organisations have always kept databases. The difference is that much more surveillance can be made with electronic databases because of their speed, types of information and scale of exchange of information between them.
Compare and contrast paper-based and electronic records in more detail – pay particular attention on the amount and type of data, who has access to them and the length of retention.
Recall that Max takes sensitive data home. The movement of data can be problematic in itself – it is difficult to keep track and to ensure security of the data in different environments and locations. Taking work home is not new – companies have allowed their employee to take company’s resources home, make use of it in completed a tasks and then to bring it back. In these cases, companies have strict rules on how these resources should be handled. Computer data should be treated in a similar way – by either not allowing data to be copied from the main frame at all or by specifying data encryption to be used.
Consider the case of Pat who took her landlord to court because of presence of pests in the flat. The landlord did not contest the case, but soon after Pat moved to another area but discovered that she always get turned down. Pat discovers that there is a list of people who has taken landlords to court and that this list can be purchased.
Do you think anyone is at fault here? Can you see the parallel between this lo-tech database and the use of much more sophisticated databases for similar reasons, as in Ravi’s case?