https://www.amazon.com/Privacy-Age-Bi...

When it comes to privacy in this digital age, it can be difficult to create a comprehensive overview of all vulnerabilities, violations, and risks but to date, no book creates more talking points and discussion threads than this one... Privacy in the Age of Big Data: Recognizing Threats, Defending Your Rights, and Protecting Your Family. Authors Theresa Payton and Ted Claypoole deliver an almost dizzying catalog of potential discussions on privacy, followed up with real world citations and examples of violations of this privacy. And to top it off, many chapters even include checklists of tips to help the average reader steer clear of Big Data’s watchful eye. This 2nd edition picks up where the first one left off, adding even more context to include the latest updates in this breakneck-paced world of digital technology.

One would assume that as cybersecurity experts, the authors have an innate bias favoring user privacy over everyone else. But here’s where the authors' credentials help polish the research and presentation of this material. Theresa Payton spent over two years as the White House’s first female Chief Information Officer under the George W. Bush administration and Ted Claypoole is an attorney that also chairs the Cyberspace Law Committee. Between the two of them, they seem to have the practical, technical and legal aspects of privacy soundly covered, but their combined expertise never coerces nor pressures the reader into false hopes or alarmist views.

I’ve never met Ted Claypoole, but I do know Theresa and even interviewed her on my podcast as she explained why she wrote her previous book, Manipulated, which chronicles the dangers of misinformation campaigns and why that keeps her up at night. Theresa is the real deal and much more than just the CEO of Fortalice Solutions and the face of the CBS reality TV series Hunted.

Privacy in the Age of Big Data breaks down many privacy concepts without resorting to scare tactics and baseless hypotheticals. We learn how massive data harvesting and surveillance has its place in crime prevention, national security and fraud detection to keep the public safe. The authors argue these aspects effectively, even though the sheer volume of downsides and potential abuses can sometimes feel overwhelming. Illegal surveillance, societal manipulations, intrusiveness of devices and potential cyberattacks are covered thoroughly and just the tip of the privacy violations iceberg. This book offers both sides and most importantly, conveys both sides fairly, letting the reader ultimately decide if the cost of having their privacy chipped away is worth the convenience as a digital citizen.

From the moment I opened this book, I was confronted with a thoughtful discussion on not just privacy, but the philosophical underpinnings of what it means to be a citizen in a free country and how that freedom can quickly erode in subtle ways that shape our very nature when our personal privacy is in question.

Payton and Claypoole step readers through the current legislative and technological morass we all find ourselves in as a result of the ever-present, pocket-sized spy tech we all brandish, otherwise known as the modern smartphone. As our instincts to protect ourselves and our families are constantly undermined by cameras, smart speakers, drones and trackers, we are faced with cautionary tales emanating from today’s Communist China which portending an eventual landing in our own backyard. Even our very own DNA is even up for grabs as ethical violations and biometric protections battle it out in the courts and server farms owned by Big Tech all under the watchful eye of Big Brother.

That being said it’s refreshing to see a book that doesn’t demonize all tech companies and governments as evil and abusive data harvesters.

Privacy in the Age of Big Data is truly a balanced compendium that sets a new benchmark in the discourse on digital privacy.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.