February 20, 2005

Paris Hilton Hacked T-Mobile Sidekick and Privacy Attacked

Various leading tech sites on the internet are pointing to links that show Paris Hilton's private camera phone shots, address book filled with phone numbers of her celebrity friends, and travel notes that were hacked from her Sidekick smartphone. I'm certainly not a fan of Paris Hilton as a celebrity, but this is going too far.

Showing someone's private data is not what the blogosphere and tech news sites should promote. Where are our ideals of privacy and common decency? How would you like it if all your emails, notes, private camera phone shots, and phone numbers were hosted on the internet for all the world to see? It is simply wrong.

I certainly have a ton of personal information on my electronic devices that is not for public consumption. So instead of adding fuel to the fire of celebrity tabloid journalism, the tech blogosphere should stand together and condemn this or all our privacy rights are at risk.

Are we going to pander to the lowest common "Jerry Springer" denominator for extra pageviews or are we going to aspire to a higher level of journalism for the common good? Would the New York Times ever post or link to a person's confidential information, so carelessly?

And no, it is not Paris Hilton's fault. When consumers use their cellphones for private information, they have every right to believe it is secure. The real news is T-Mobile and Sidekick should have hell to pay for not protecting their customer's data.

This incident also makes one contemplate if any internet accessible data is truly secure. From the Half-life 2 leak, to cracked Blackberries, and now Paris Hilton, maybe the only true security is keeping information on an offline system like the CIA does. [Discuss]