Are People Like The Frog In The Slowly Boiling Beaker, Is It That They Just Don't Care As Their Freedoms And Privacy Errodes Away?

"As the U.S. government continues to pursue former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for leaking some of the country's most sensitive intelligence secrets, the debate over federal surveillance seems to have abated somewhat — despite Snowden's stated wish for his revelations to spark transformative and wide-ranging debate, it doesn't seem as if anyone's taking to the streets to protest the NSA's reported monitoring of Americans' emails and phone-call metadata. Even so, will the recent revelations about the NSA cause a spike in demand for sophisticated privacy software, leading to a glut of new apps that vaporize or encrypt data? While there are quite a number of tools already on the market (SpiderOak, Silent Circle, and many more), is their presence enough to get people interested enough to install them? Or do you think the majority of people simply don't care? Despite some polling data that suggests people are concerned about their privacy, software for securing it is just not an exciting topic for most folks, who will rush to download the latest iteration of Instagram or Plants vs. Zombies, but who often throw up their hands and profess ignorance when asked about how they lock down their data."

 "A recent poll from the YouGov consisting of one thousand responses shows that Snowden's support among Americans has shifted. Now, according to the poll, more Americans think he did the wrong thing rather than the right thing when asked: 'Based on what you've heard, do think Snowden's leak of top-secret information about government surveillance programs to the media was the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do?' The results and breakdown are available online (PDF). Without getting into racial or political breakdowns, the results now show that 38% say he did the wrong thing, 33% say he did the right thing and 29% remain undecided about the results of his actions. Instead of charging the populace into action Snowden may be facing apathy at best and public disapproval at worst."

As the U.S. government continues to pursue former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for spilling the beans on "Prism" the debate over federal surveillance seems to have abated somewhat—despite Snowden’s stated wish for his revelations to spark transformative and wide-ranging debate, it doesn’t seem as if anyone’s taking to the streets to protest the NSA’s reported monitoring of Americans’ emails and phone-call metadata.

But that doesn’t mean privacy is dead: even before the NSA story broke, more and more companies were producing apps designed to eradicate and obfuscate user data, guarding sensitive communications from prying eyes.

Late last year, for example, startup Silent Circle launched software tools for mobile devices to encrypt data while in transit, including PGP email (interoperable with external email clients) and secure video chat; its Burn Notice feature can erase messages and files after a few seconds. In December 2012, Facebook launched Poke, which nukes pictures, text and video after a predetermined amount of time. Poke was the social network’s response to the popular Snapchat, which gives images the ability to self-destruct.

On the enterprise side of the equation, there’s Voltage Security, with a variety of encryption and tokenization tools; Liaison, which traffics in communications and transaction encryption; and, for database security, Application Security.  The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) also recommended that the security-conscious consider Tor, HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), and host-proof cryptographic platforms such as SpiderOak as methods of locking down sensitive data and communications.

Will the recent revelations about the NSA lead to a spike in demand for sophisticated privacy software, leading to a glut of new apps that vaporize or encrypt data? Will privacy become a hot new segment for developers and startups?

Americans are certainly concerned about privacy. In September 2012, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project released a poll suggesting that more than 50 percent of smartphone users had decided not to install a particular app because of concerns over how the software stored and shared personal data. Other surveys have indicated similar worries over sanctity of user data.

However, individual privacy concerns might not be driving investment in privacy and security software—concern over sophisticated hacking of corporate and governmental databases, and the resulting theft of valuable intellectual property, has been powering an uptick in security-related investment since at least early 2012. Tech companies might not care overmuch about your personal data—indeed, shielding your personal data prevents many IT giants from selling ads against it—but they will respond to deep-pocketed businesses’ need for hardened communications and digital storage.

Ultimately, business will be the driver for security and privacy software. It’s just not an exciting topic for most people, who will rush to download the latest iteration of Instagram or Plants vs. Zombies, but who often throw up their hands and profess ignorance when asked about how they lock down their data. Those sophisticated enough—or paranoid enough—will continue to seek out solutions. But it’s unlikely that privacy is poised to become the next explosive growth opportunity, despite the current headlines.

 But none of this is new. It goes way back...

"The N.S.A.'s program is indeed alarming — but not, from a historical perspective, unprecedented. And history suggests that we should worry less about the surveillance itself and more about when the war in whose name the surveillance is being conducted will end. 

In 1862, after President Abraham Lincoln appointed him secretary of war, Edwin M. Stanton penned a letter to the president requesting sweeping powers, which would include total control of the telegraph lines. 

 By rerouting those lines through his office, Stanton would keep tabs on vast amounts of communication, journalistic, governmental and personal. 

 On the back of Stanton's letter Lincoln scribbled his approval: 'The Secretary of War has my authority to exercise his discretion in the matter within mentioned.'"

 http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21580464-european-governments-should-not-kick-up-fuss-about-american-spying-they-have-too-much

Could it be that President James Madison saw a potential scenario?