Re:Data on 7% of Americans Were Just Hacked, Now What?
by elorant on Friday July 10, 2015 @07:06PM
(#9867514)
That somebody else could be someone who tries identity theft, or worse. And information about state actors has been published, that's what the WikiLeaks case is all about. I don't think it had the effect you might hope for but just because the government acts badly doesn't mean they're the worst predators out there.
We also live in a world of industrial espionage. What if someone in this list is the CEO of multibillion corporation with a serious health problem that he/she kept secret. You publish the health records and the stock tanks. Or someone who works as a contractor for the army. There are nightmarish scenarios of what could be done with all that kind of information. There are even fingerprints in there.
Re:Data on 7% of Americans Were Just Hacked, Now What?
by wildmusings on Friday July 10, 2015 @09:00PM
(#9867988)
Except that what leaked out is the background checks of almost all of the people that have a security clearance. There's a lot potential for someone to use that information to blackmail ("I'll tell your wife about that affair you had 10 years ago") or socially engineer (pretend to be someone else) their way to the very secrets this process is supposed to protect.
On the other hand, if personal and important information about the activities (behind the curtain) of all those politicians, banksters and big corporations, american or not, was accessible to the public, perhaps things would change.