In the book 1984, author George Orwell painted a picture of a world in a perpetual war and where citizens were constantly being observed by government.
Hence the term Big Brother is watching. Big Brother, was the ruling party’s leader, who may or may not exist.
Of course that is just a book, that most of us were forced to read in high school. In real life that couldn’t happen, right?
Although on any given street corner in any town or city there are enough security cameras to record just about any excursion outside one’s home, in Canada we have privacy laws which prevent the government from unduly watching its citizens.
Yes, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the recent passing of C-51 which gives the government added tools to combat potential terrorist threats, but for the most part, everyday Canadians have little to fear about being watched by ‘Big Brother.’
At least in terms of Big Brother being government.
Big brother, sister, cousin, best friend, neighbour, or the person living down the street, now that’s a different story.
There was a time not so long ago when protecting a person’s privacy meant drawing the curtains of their windows. Now, in the computer era, protecting one’s privacy is a bit more difficult.
Long ago hackers found out they had the ability to access government, business, and personal websites and computers and did so for a wide variety of reasons, crime, curiosity, or just for the challenge.
Now it seems these hackers have added another target to their list, everyday household items, that people wouldn’t normally acquaint with hackers. Things like baby monitors or their vehicles.
On July23, a father in southwestern Ontario reported he was rocking his baby when the web-linked nursery monitor suddenly turned on and creepy music started playing. Then a voice said over it: “I see you rocking your baby.
In response to the incident, the Ontario Provincial Police issued a warning Wednesday reminding people that cameras connected to the Internet can be hacked. They said security cameras and monitoring systems can be susceptible to hackers because many have an option to be used remotely that is enabled by default.
Nor are the hackers stopping there. A pair of hackers in the U.S. recently showed Wired magazine how they could remotely control a Jeep Cherokee - taking over the speed, the radio, windshield wipers and brakes all via a laptop computer miles away.
It’s a scary thought. Anyone in the market for a new vehicle, baby monitor and the like, will soon be hard pressed to find one that isn’t able to connect to the Internet.
As a reporter and an amateur radio operator, I have on occasion been forced to join the 21st century and try to embrace technology. Like most people I have a cell phone, regularly surf the Internet for work and pleasure and dabble on Facebook and Twitter, but for the most part today’s technology is beyond me. I have always said that technology peaked with frozen pizza. Unfortunately, there is a group of people that have skills and abilities far beyond my own and this is the Big Brother we all have to be concerned about.
