Steve Schear wrote...
This is why all such records, if they are generated at all, should be held offshore and accessible only through a procedure which includes a duress clause.
This leads me to an interesting set of ideas I've been playing with recently.
Let's say I work for a large commercial entity with very large amounts of data about lots of US (and other) consumers. Let's also say that I'm starting to feel that the integrity of this data can't be assured under the current (or future) regime in DC. (And this lack-of-integrity may play out as a very real marketing/customer service issue.) Let's also say that I've convinced the relevant parties within this commerical entity to start moving this data (or a copy of it, perhaps) offshore, where it can be more readily 'protected'.
Has this kind of thing been done already? (I'm talking about huge amounts of commercial data.) And, how is that data placed so that there's a reasonable level of confidence that it's 'safe' (ie, if the data were moved to the UK I would assume our cronies over there would be eager to help DC dig out whatever they needed). Do we need a few copies in varying political regimes in order for this to work?
Since some very sensitive citizen data is already being accessed and processed offshore I doubt there are laws against its only copy being moved offshore as well. The companies doing so, of course, would need to prevent the data's corruption or misuse.
ALso, anybody know if there are any legal consequences/risks here in the US if this was even attempted? (ie, 'moving' data really means copying overseas and then destroying the local copy...I assume a big corporation could do this without any legal consequences...).
Also, is this even worth doing or is there some big hole in the logic here? (Tyler Durden being a Cypherpunk of the Stoopid variety...)
In at least a few cases large companies have been blackmailed by offshore workers unhappy with pay. I can't recall the exact details but one situation, I think, involved some Pakistanis threatening to release confidential medical patient data, a clear violation of the HIPPA regs., if they didn't get more dosh.
steve
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