SPYING typically involves stealing secrets by lying and cheating. How then should law-governed states deal with this lawless branch of government? Technology is making old rules increasingly inadequate (see article). Modern life leaves abundant electronic clues, which businesses already exploit for profit. Intelligence agencies can and should use such data to monitor terrorists, criminals and spies, as well as hostile states.
But the advent of big data is blurring old definitions. Simply collecting and analysing the “metadata”—the outward details of communications, but not their content—reveals much about an individual. It is ever-harder to distinguish information involving foreigners (usually fair game) and a country’s own people (whose privacy should usually be protected). A lack of public trust compounds the problem. Spooks may shrug at the naivety and suspicion displayed in the reaction to revelations by Edward Snowden, who worked at America’s National Security Agency (NSA). But the public...
from The Economist: Leaders http://ift.tt/1SkcEYq
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