Computer Privacy and Free Software: Improving our security

Computer Privacy and Free Software: Improving our security

Computer Privacy and Free Software: Improving our security

La «Seguridad de la Información», this new area of ​​human knowledge, today it remains related to practically every facet of everyday life in modern society. Therefore, it has left the strict technical field and has been integrated into the social field.

And now, that technology threatens the social, the individual or collective, the public and the private, la «Seguridad de la Información» attempts to offer reactive means or measures, through «Seguridad Informática», la «Ciberseguridad» or the «Informática Forense» within the schemes of public policies of the States and Society in general. In order to try to guarantee as far as possible the «Seguridad», «Privacidad» and «Anonimato» of all the members of the Society.

All this, because the intense and exponential technological growth tends to exceed national and international regulations., existing and planned, to safeguard all human activities, which are or may be affected or imbalanced by said technological advance.

Computer Privacy: Declaration

The right to privacy

History

The gap created by technology tends to increase the threats and risks for the «Sociedad» when it is, it is not well regulated from the beginning, especially at the point of law of the «Privacidad». Universal law that is present in the «Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU)», and that consists in the «Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos» of the year 1948, as follows:

“No one shall be the object of arbitrary interference with his private life, his family, his home or his correspondence, nor of attacks on his honor or reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks ”.

Right to data «Privacidad», which was later ratified in 1966, by the «Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas», in Article 17 of the «Pacto Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Políticos»». And then, on many other occasions by different international organizations and institutions to counteract the subsequent invasive experiences to personal life that were lived since the «Primera Guerra Mundial» with the «Nazismo», «Fascismo» or «Macarthismo», and many more to this day.

Computer Privacy and Free Software: Resolution 45/95

News

As a result of all this, both in the «ONU» as in other entities or instances, have been established to date, both macro and micro, a set of global and borderless premises to protect the non-public realm and so that the limits that the States and Governments must set and respect with respect to interference with the life of the citizenry were instituted.

But, and now that all physical reality, intermingles with the «realidad digital» o «cibernética»: Can these legal principles be extrapolated from the physical to the virtual world? A good attempt in this regard was the case of the measures adopted through the «Resolución 45/95» full «Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas» on December 14, 1990, to establish the guidelines on the regulation of «archivos de datos personales informatizados».

Right to the protection of Personal Data

Measures, where the procedures were established to put into practice the regulations relating to the «archivos de datos personales informatizados», and the implementation of the pertinent legislation was left to the powers of the States, on the condition that the «Derecho a la protección de los Datos Personales», given the possible dangers and abuses to which people are exposed to the increasingly widespread process of computerization.

Among other important cases to cite, is the «Informe del Consejo de Derechos Humanos (A/72/53)», where it is made clear that the pace of technological development that allows people to use the «TIC», at the same time, increases and facilitates the capacity of Governments, Companies and People to carry out activities of «vigilancia, interceptación y recopilación de datos».

Therefore, it urges Governments to avoid actions that result in a violation or transgression of human rights, especially the right to freedom. «Privacidad», established in the Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Computer Privacy and Free Software: What is Computer Privacy?

What is Computer Privacy?

It is the branch of the «Seguridad de la Información» that studies everything related to privacy or data protection. Being understood by this, that is, the privacy or protection of the data as the aspect of the «Tecnología de la Información (TI)» which deals with the ability that an organization or individual has to determine what data in a computer system can be shared with third parties.

In other words, it can be said in a shorter way, that It is the right of someone (or something) to keep their digital personal data reserved or confidential within their Equipment and Communication Infrastructures used. Being understood, by personal data, any information about an "identified and identifiable living natural person", as defined by the European Commission in the General Regulation of Data Protection (RGPD).

Computer Privacy and Free Software: Privacy and Anonymity

Privacy and Anonymity

These terms tend to be confused, so it is worth clarifying again that although both may seem alike, they are not the same.

Meanwhile, la «Privacidad» is the individual expectation of control that each person has over information about himself and the way in which this information is known or used by third parties, the «Anonimato» is the property or characteristic associated with a «Sujeto» which expresses that it cannot be identified within a set of other entities (subjects), which is usually called «Conjunto anónimo», and is usually made up of all possible subjects that may cause (or be related to) an action.

And while, the «Privacidad» in itself is closely linked to the responsibility of the user when sharing their content on the Internet, the «Anonimato» it is closely linked to the actions of the user to ensure that their access to the Internet is carried out in such a way that their identity and other related data are not known.

Computer Privacy and Free Software: Linux

Computer Privacy and Free Software

It is clear, the concern that exists in the world around the safeguarding the right to «Privacidad» and «Seguridad de la Información» through legislative initiatives that have the ability to stay ahead of technology itself.

In addition to the disagreements typical of the legislative plane, the positions on the most appropriate technological base to combat the dangers to which users are exposed when exchanging information are currently recurrent and no less controversial, with a clear bifurcation between free and proprietary technologies . At the level of «Seguridad de la Información», «Tecnologías libres» They have been gaining ground, dismantling the traditional beliefs that indicate that for something to be considered safe it must be secret and inaccessible.

Free Software Freedoms

The four essential freedoms of free technologies are:

  • 0: The freedom to run the program however you want, for any purpose.
  • 1: The freedom to access and study a program, and change or adapt it for your own benefit.
  • 2: The freedom to share or redistribute copies to spread the same and / or help others.
  • 3: The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to third parties.

Scheme that is not only convenient, but also allows to guarantee the pillars of the «Seguridad de la Información», that is, confidentiality, integrity, availability, plus the «Seguridad Informática» and «Privacidad Informática», as discussed earlier in the article on Cybersecurity, in which it was said that:

“… It's thanks to the «cuatro (4) leyes básicas del Software Libre» that allow the responses to be not only more efficient and effective, but also forceful, varied and with specific guidelines. Still, despite the alleged huge fragmentation of the «Software Libre, Código Abierto y Linux»".

Advantages of Free Software

Finally, we can add that at the level of «Privacidad», free software always offers us greater guarantees in this regard, since we can audit the code, and know for sure what it does inside in general, or know what X process does with our information. And until we can discover, a possible back door with which some personal data about us or a user can be filtered, while in proprietary software, none of this is so easy to do.

Computer Privacy and Free Software: Conclusion

Conclusion

Like, we could see, la «Privacidad» It's not anything, it's a «Derecho Humano fundamental» that must be faithfully guaranteed by governments, states, companies, and other individuals or organizations.

In such a way that the many universal provisions in this regard are fulfilled, such as the Principle of Lawfulness and Loyalty of the Charter of the United Nations which establishes that information relating to individuals should not be collected or processed with unfair or illegal procedures, nor used for purposes contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter.

And last but not least, it is good to keep in mind that The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights watches over our right to privacy in the digital age.

And that it is in charge of raising before the «Naciones Unidas» corresponding reports on privacy in the digital age, in order to guide the path that the States parties should take in matters of legislation, given that the crimes that could be committed against the right to privacy, in the digital age, are and will continue to be as changing as technology itself.


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  1.   arazal said

    Very interesting article on a point that despite being critical is overlooked in favor of functionality at all costs

    - The biggest example is the messaging app and used that was acquired by a company that clearly (does not cut it) passes through the arch of triumph privacy, has anyone questioned the use of the messaging app after the acquisition of that social network? No, because everyone is there and it is more important for them to be in touch than to "risk" trying alternatives.

    - Another glaring example is this app that has become very popular overnight, that one to get old through filters, which has been discovered to collect and share a large amount of the user's private information with third parties. Has anyone shouted in the sky?

    They are two examples of so many ...

    When someone talks about privacy despite being -or should be- it gives the feeling that they preach in the desert ... but even so, we must admit that you are a brave Linux Post Install.

  2.   Linux PostInstall said

    As always, thank you for your accurate and valuable comment on the articles published, and as you say your "on this critical issue" for everyone.

  3.   electronic hive said

    Greetings excellent post I really liked it and sharing

    1.    Linux PostInstall said

      Greetings Electronic Beehive! Thank you for your positive comment. That is one of 4 that I did on that subject.