Customer Reviews

No Place to Hide: Behind the Scenes of Our Emerging Surveillance Society

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You've rented a car to drive from Connecticut to Virginia. You head south on I-95, but at times, your speed creeps up to 80 mph like many of the drivers around you. Finally, you stop to buy gas but your credit card is rejected at the pump. The reason? The company who rented you the car has been monitoring your driving in real time. Not only that, they've fined you three times, at $150 per violation, for speeding, and already deducted it from your credit card. Sound impossible? It's not, and Robert O'Harrow's NO PLACE TO HIDE describes how car rental companies can do it, and have already done it.

Perhaps you have never heard of Acxiom, Seisint, ChoicePoint, HNC Software, TransCore, Searchspace, and Verint? Well, that's just the way those companies want it. And they are just some of the companies who know all about you - your name, address, and social security number, every place you've ever lived, your credit histories, who your friends are, what you say and do on the Internet, where you travel, even your faces, fingerprints, and DNA. In the interest of catching terrorists and preventing terrorism, federal and local law enforcement agencies have increasingly turned to these companies for help - all conveniently situated outside the privacy laws and Patriot Act restrictions and free to collect virtually any information they can lay their hands on. The result is a boom in the "total information awareness" business that is creating a world of commercial "big brothers." It is a world about which most Americans are blissfully, and foolishly, unaware.

Faster machines, bigger databases, more networking, and microminiaturization to the level of flea-sized RFID chips and "smart dust" will only make these systems more and more pervasive. But as O'Harrow repeatedly demonstrates, mistakes get made and innocent people's lives are ruined without recourse. One of the strengths of NO PLACE TO HIDE is the author's retelling of nightmarish occurrences that victimized innocent American citizens, stories that resound with the eerie randomness and facelessness of Kafka's THE TRIAL. The author points out as well that system missions creep from anti-terrorism to criminal behavior to ... what? Furthermore, he demonstrates that these systems are so uncontrolled an open-ended in their use, law enforcement personnel can use them for any reason whatsoever, even for personal reasons or for personal gain. As O'Harrow quotes one sheriff's deputy from Michigan, "There isn't anybody, anywhere in law enforcement, that doesn't check people out. If they say they don't I'd stake you a hundred that they're lying."

NO PLACE TO HIDE is not without shortcomings that render it a 4-star rating rather than 5 stars. To begin with, O'Harrow's writing style is a bit tedious, employing more or less the same dramatic and illustrative devices in each chapter. As a result, the book feels longer and more repetitive than it really is. Second, by striving mightily to stay even-handed, the author creates an odd distance to subject matter that should be raising his hackles and creating a greater sense of outrage or dread. Third, the book is so full of little-known company names, products and services, and governmental agencies, they tend to blend into a sort of surveillance industry soup. A few well-conceived charts or diagrams would have been invaluable in sorting out the players. Finally, the book ends without so much as a word on what should be done to bring the post-9/11, Patriot Act-inspired information and surveillance crusade back under some semblance of citizen control.

Nevertheless, it's fair to say that O'Harrow's book is indeed a harrowing look into a 1984-ish, MINORITY REPORT future. Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, you're likely to find much to disturb you in this eye-opening book. NO PLACE TO HIDE outlines the framework for an America few of us would knowingly choose, evidence (if any more was needed) that Osama bin Laden's 9/11 plan succeeded far beyond anything he could possibly have dreamed. After all, could he ever have imagined being able to turn us so aggressively against ourselves? Or, to quote Ben Franklin in what is probably the best sentence in the book, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety." When are we finally going to wake up from our 9/11 stupor and heed Mr. Franklin? Perhaps NO PLACE TO HIDE is the alarm we need.

No Place To Hide is a crucial and essential book to read for an eye opening factual account of data collection and privacy issues all Americans face. Mr. O'Harrow has written a book with meticulous attention to details, facts and reveals the main players involved with the collection of data of every aspect of daily American lives and how that data is being supplied to any government agency that cares to purchase it.

O'Harrow exposes the serious issue of private data technology companies and their marriage to government agencies, a marriage that is thriving while unchecked and ungoverned by guidelines or laws to protect every American's basic right to Privacy.

This book leads one to formulate the question "Is giving up my basic rights to privacy and living in a unrestricted, constantly growing complex of surveillance, data collection and selling of that data to any government agency going to make my life a more secure and safe one?

No Place To Hide is a concise and frighteningly revealing book that all Americans should read. O'Harrow arms us with an inside look at a growing partnership between private industry and government that needs to be controlled. A book that should remind all American's that we do have a voice in our Government and that we have serious Privacy and Civil Liberty issues at hand that we need to address as a nation.

E. Ray

O'Harrow's book reads like a riveting spy novel. The stakes are high. How can America catch terrorists before they strike again? How can government help Americans feel safe in these uncertain times? The answer, according to powerful, self-styled, selfless techno-patriots is to buy their technology - lots of it - and records that have been amassed by commercial data brokers on every single American with details on the most intimate aspects of our lives ranging from where we live, where we bank, what we buy and how we like our sex - records that are often fraught with mistakes that finger innocents as criminals, deadbeats or worse.

It's a kind of science fiction nightmare where J. Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy have been reincarnated into big business seeking to profit off the fears of the post 9/11 world - only it's real, it's revolting and the politicians and bureaucrats are often complicit. If the techno-patriots are going to save us from the next Mohamed Atta, who's going to save us from them? Can they really do it, or is it all smoke and mirrors in the name of profiteering? Are there alternatives that are better, faster, more cost effective, reliable and less intrusive? Sadly, these questions are the cliff hangers that go unanswered in O'Harrow's thought provoking book. There is no protagonist - only a bunch of characters - often seedy - who are out to convince America that you'll be safer if government can peek at your knickers on demand.

In a year where the U.S. will begin to implement Intelligence Reform legislation, the Patriot Act is up for review, and deficits are at all time highs to fight the war on terror, No Place to Hide is particularly timely. O'Harrow sets the table beautifully - it's up to every reader to decide whether America can stomach the meal being served. This is a mandatory read for policymakers and anyone who cares about what it means to live in America.

As a software developer I found most of the information in this book to be something less than earth shattering. Basically, there are companies that specialize in data mining as much information on us as they can. The present administration is drooling over the possibility to use this information. A large percentage of the information stored in the databases is in error. That's pretty much the book. Should we be concerned? Yes, but not of the information existing because its mostly public information anyway that is being linked in creativie ways. I'm not an advocate for this by any means but I'm not terribly fearful of it either. What does concern me, and should you, is how much of the information is wrong and how difficult it is to get these companies to fix it. To me, that was the greatest point the book made.

As for government spying. We know now that the government is surveying us in much greater and more Orwellian ways than we would have thought possible. Unfortunately, this is what I wanted to learn more about and is pretty much missing from the book. Also, there is no "solution" provided. How can we protect ourselves?

Mainly, I was disapointed be because every person mentioned in the book has a drawn out biography provided about them. I really didn't care how the CEO of a data mining company grew up. I wanted to learn about the subject of the book, not history of indivuals.

Its not a bad book, but I grew tired of the biographies and the content didn't surprise me or frighten me enough to be real impressed.

I mean the state of privacy in America, not the book.

The author provides shocking and "eye opening" information about private data companies that are building dossiers on each and every one of us! But in the end I also think that the problem lies with the government's hunger for surveillance and control.

I was a young girl in Nazi Germany and can still remember how we were shocked that a totalitarian state could spring up so easily in what was a free and democratic country. The problem was that we were complacent and we waited too long to recognize and challenge what was happening. I think America, my beloved adopted country, is on the same path.

It would most helpful and only correct if people would read this most revealing book BEFORE leaving a political commentary or review, which has nothing to do what so ever with the subject of this book. It is most misleading not to do so.

This book is not about Saddam at all, but rather about frightening privacy issues that are facing Americans post 9/11 under the guise of Security and Protection for the USA.

Really, do yourself a favor and read this well researched and most informative book. The author has more then done his homework. He has compiled thoroughly established facts in an understandable book that anyone, even those who DON"T take the time to read books before leaving reviews will find enlightening. This book is a most essential read for all Americans.

Seriously think about having the on star ripped out of your car (it can transmit every word you say back to it's handlers). Who needs easy pass that tracks your driving. The more you think about it everything electronic is busy making a de facto diary of you (including me writing this review). It is the conclusion of this relatively difficult read, that the private sector is our worst problem. there really ought to be safegaurds and restrictions, but apparently nobody made any, unless you consider 1974's privacy bills, which are hopelessly obselete, and from the jurrassic age of surveilance. Could this affect you? Documented cases include job losses for diverse reasons revealed in checks, including a poor single mother fired for a check bounced 2 years previously; a machinist fired for his sealed juvinile record; two airline pilots fired and accused of drunk flying convicted by the electronic record of the bar bill, and the electronic locks in their rooms, which recorded the instant the key cards were used. How about the cameras everywhere watching the employees as much, or more so, than the customers. Then theres the true story about some poor sucker who rented a minivan, found his credit card had stopped working, and found out when he returned the minivan, that the rental company had issued 3 separate speeding penalties of $150 each in 3 different states and debited them from his account as per the fine print in his contract that he signed with them to rent the car. In fact they were within their rights to have shut the vehicle down electronically, and remotely using the AirIQ system built into it! Signs lead to an exponential growth rate in the detail of this watchfulness as computers become faster, electronics cheaper, and us post 911s keep foaming at the mouth to give away our liberties.

O'Harrow describes harrowing circumstances which could have a negative, perhaps destructive impact on countless citizens who already fear an invasion of their privacy. Various data services in collaboration with government anti-terrorist initiatives continue to compile detailed information about millions of citizens. For them, there really is "no place to hide" even if most of these citizens have nothing to "hide" but certainly information they wish to protect. No doubt there are legitimate needs for creating a national intelligence infrastructure. That said, there are obviously ambitious, unscrupulous, and resourceful people with access to that infrastructure who can -- and have -- used it to their own malevolent advantage. Here are some of the questions to which O`Harrow responds:

1. What are the implications of the Intelligence Bill approved by the U.S. Congress last December?

2. How and why does the government outsource information to information companies?

3. How can individual citizens protect information about themselves which has nothing to do with national security?

4. To what extent are their rights threatened by unauthorized use of radio frequency identification chips (RFIDs), fingerprints, iris scans, and other boiometrics?

5. Why should there be legitimate concerns about Total Information Awareness, despite the fact that this surveillance system proposed by the Defense Department was rejected by the U.S. Congress?

Whether or not you agree with all, most, or even some of what O'Harrow says in response to questions such as these, you need to be aware of the issues which he and others have identified.

Frankly, I want to do all I can to support my government's efforts to protect its citizens from terrorist threats but I have several and serious concerns about the abuse of what I consider to be privileged information. I am appalled by the fact that it is now possible for anyone to purchase (for about $50) a dossier which includes everything needed to commit identity theft. I take all the recommended precautionary steps, of course, but even so....

It is possible but unlikely that when George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four (first published in 1949), he envisioned then all of the potential implications of his warning that "Big Brother Is Watching You." To those who question that, I urge them to read O'Harrow's book.

First, I gave this book 4 stars rather than 5 ONLY because the volume of information provided and the writing style make it a bit of a chore to slog through. That said, the information contained in this tome is genuinely frightening stuff.

Between the truly sloppy practices of the commercial info brokers who buy and sell our lives (without any compensation to us) and the voracious appetite of the post 9/11 federal security apparat, it seems that we may have a lot more to fear from our "friends" than we do from our enemies the terrorists.

Some other reviewers have complained that O'Harrow has provided us with no solution to the problem. Its true, he hasn't, but I will. Buy this book, and if it scares you enough, buy three more, and send one each to your congressional representatives under a covering letter asking them to tell you precisely what it is they plan to do to bring this exploding outrage of surveillance mania under control. Remember, they work for you, not vice-versa.

No Place to Hide is an expose on the ways private companies are practically mapping our every move in computer systems, and then selling the information to local, state and the federal governments. The book discusses the different types of technology that various companies have created and the terrifying things they can do, such as scan your face and pull up nearly endless amounts of information about what you thought was your personal life in seconds. O'Harrow discusses how much of this new technology was OK'd by the government because of the Patriot Act. Many of our national tragedies (Columbine and September 11th) have allowed the citizens of the grand U.S. of A to limit our own freedoms in an attempt to make America "safer." O'Harrow believes that all of the technology that is out there is making our lives much too Orwellian, but there is no way to prevent the control company's and the government's knowledge of us. Never saying this directly, O'Harrow dodges would could very well be a lengthy and valid legal battle involving slander. Instead, he states the facts and relates stories to his audience that depict the problems that surveillance technology has caused.
O'Harrow teaches his readers about companies such as Acxiom, LexisNexis, seisint, and ChoicePoint, who all hold more information about 220 million adults than anyone could think possible. He states a few statistics when discussing ChoicePoint, a prodiment company: "...total of about 17 billion online public records, a figure that grows by more than 40,000 every day...the company has more than 250 terabytes of data regarding the lives for about 220 million adults. That's enough information to extend some 21 million miles...That's roughly 77 trips to the moon" (145). For those that do not understand "byte" math, one terabyte is equal to 1024 gigabytes. So, ChoicePoint basically has 12,800 iPods (20gb) worth of information. Many people find it difficult to just fill one. ChoicePoint and the other companies gather their data in many different ways, O'Harrow tells us. Phone companies, credit companies, hotels, stores, TV companies, and various other sources give up their customers information, sharing what we eat, sleep, watch, wear, and do. Other times, companies have researchers who go to the local courthouse and write down everything, everyday that goes on public record, and then report back to the surveillance companies. O'Harrow's ideas would seem preposterous if it weren't for the fact that most of what he writes are stories that people he interviewed told him, or were actual statistics from the companies themselves.
The one thing about this book that proves to the reader that O'Harrow's work is a valid one that he is able to make a case explaining why the lose of our privacy is not a lose of our freedoms, and is able to shut it down. He ends the book with an anecdote about two pilots who were prosecuted for flying a commercial jet drunk, caught with all of the new information "they" can gather. No human being could be upset that these men got caught endangering the lives of thousands, and no human being could say right away, "Well, it doesn't matter if they were drunk or not, we shouldn't have the ability to know what they did in private." O'Harrow goes on to list the types of tidbits the government can learn about you with the exact same technology that got those two men caught: the coffee shops we frequent, what type of coffee we get, when we get this coffee, when we got into our cars, where we went in our cars, what we wrote in a private e-mail, when we rode the subway, the drugs we took years ago, and how we like our sex. He ends the book giving the reader an ominous feeling that no matter how awful it is that our every move is being watched, there really isn't anywhere to hide. No Place to Hide is a book that exposes the truth in ways that the general public can understand, be angry about, and want to fight. However, the book also is realistic in telling citizens that there really isn't anything we can do to stop the ever-growing Big Brother world we live in.