From: cactus@bb.com (L. Todd Masco)
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 94 16:24:52 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Creating privacy crises: Society hacking
Message-ID: <338o15$c98@bb.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


In the composition of my last message, I was thinking in the back of
 my mind about how we could foment an information privacy crisis.  This
 could very well be a Good Thing, a societal hack to serve as a wake-
 up call.

At the HOPE conference, there was someone selling CD-ROMs of the DMV
 records for Oregon for $125.  The same folks promise to add more states
 soon: next in line is Texas.

Perhaps one could generate a privacy crisis by collecting that information
 and conducting a mass mailing to every person in the database: "we have
 this information on you.  So could anybody with $125.  Call your congress
 critter and complain."

Some people don't consider their DMV records critical -- so perhaps a
 mailing from a company of their credit history would open their eyes
 (More effort than the $125 + postage, but probably a better yield).

It's just a thought and it would require some amount of time & money,
 but it's a doable hack with finite resources.

Thoughts?  Is this totally off the wall, or do y'all think that somebody
 with a small but not tiny amount of money would be into doing this?
-- 
L. Todd Masco  | "Large prime numbers imply arrest."  - Previously meaningless
cactus@bb.com  |   grammatically correct sentence.  Now...