[Sirius]

Originally Posted by lucevans

Then let me explain to you why I am so up in air (sic) about Phorm:

Let me first say that whatever technical or legal difficulties this system suffers from, as far as I am concerned, the single most important reason to prevent it's use is simply this: it is morally wrong. To spy on people against their wishes, who have committed no offence, is just plain wrong whatever the reason, and particularly if it is for someone else's profit. Before you say "you can opt out": No, you can't. You can opt out of receiving targeted advertisements, but you can't be certain that doing so also prevents the interception and analysis of your clickstream data, and in the world of online security, uncertainty is no better than knowing that your computer has been compromised.

Having read and understood Richard Clayton's technical paper on Phorm's OIX system, I have concluded that it represents a new level of intrusion that no currently-employed system comes even close to in terms of it's obnoxiousness or ubiquity. The point is this; with all the other data mining systems currently out there it is perfectly possible to avoid them or defeat them if they are server-based (such as google's tracking system), or avoid installing them if they are client-side (e.g. spyware code that piggybacks on "free" downloaded software).
If your ISP hardwires the system into your physical connection to the internet, you have no control over it's functionality and no means by which to remove it or bypass it.
There is also a significant question over trust: not all organisations are equal when it comes to trusting them with your personal data.
Given Phorm's spyware history, I'm far less inclined to trust them with my clickstream data than I would a large, well-known company that has a history of producing software that people actually want and find useful in their everyday lives (Google). A real world analogy: given the choice, would you rather have your salary paid into a NatWest bank account, or a Bank of Zimbabwe account?
I only have Phorm's word for it that their systems are secure and cannot be exploited to harvest more from my data stream than randomised advertising category data. As I'm sure you are aware, deep packet inspection software is highly configurable, and can be used to analyse data in almost unlimited ways. I don't believe Phorm's assurances.
Finally, there is the performance hit that people who understand network design better than you or I are predicting if this system is rolled out. The mutliple redirects which will be triggered for every port 80 GET request will put further strain on Virgin Media'a already oversubscribed infrastructure, and what will happen to our internet connection if the Phorm system falls over?

---------- Post added at 11:55 ---------- Previous post was at 11:46 ----------



That's what RIPA and warrants are for: the ability to track the online activities of lawbreakers has been available to the authorities for years, and Phorm is not related to anything so worthy: it about destroying peoples' privacy for profit, not justice.

Why do those that seem to like Phorm always say " what have you got to hide, What dark secrets do you have."