Database Nation

Chapter 1. Privacy Under Attack

You wake to the sound of a ringing telephone—but how could that happen?

Several months ago, you reprogrammed your home telephone system so the phone would never ring before the civilized hour of 8:00 a.m. But it’s barely 6:45 a.m. Who could be calling at this time? More importantly, who was able to bypass your phone’s programming?

You pick up the telephone receiver, then slam it down a moment later. It’s one of those marketing machines playing a prerecorded message. Computerized telemarketing calls have been illegal within the United States for more than a decade now, but ever since international long-distance prices dropped below 10 cents a minute, calls have been pouring in to North America from all over the world. And they’re nearly all marketing calls—hence the popularity of programmable phones today. What’s troubling you now is how this call got past the filters you set up. Later on, you’ll discover how: the company that sold you the phone created an undocumented “back door”; last week, the phone codes were sold in an online auction. Because you weren’t paying attention, you lost the chance to buy back your privacy.

Oops.

Now that you’re awake, you decide to go through yesterday’s mail. There’s a letter from the neighborhood hospital you visited last month. “We’re pleased that our emergency room could serve you in your time of need,” the letter begins. “As you know, our fees (based on our agreement with your HMO) do not cover the cost of treatment. ...