er sponsor for LinuxForum 2006
Perfect Data in an Imperfect World
With Dan Klein
It is no secret that we are at the dawn of the digital age - our parents
(and for some of us, even our grandparents) have computers, digital cameras,
MP3 players, etc. We each have more computing power in our cell phones than
the mainframes of 35 years ago, and everywhere we find data acquisition and
tracking systems.
Privacy has never before been more zealously guarded nor more freely abandoned,
and with the proliferation of digital data collection
and dissemination have come new worries.
What is being recorded, why, and by whom?
With literally billions of computers around us, how can we keep our
data (and ourselves) safe? How can we prevent misappropriation or misuse of
information about ourselves? How can we ever expunge flawed records, urban
legends, or embarrassing facts? We have become the elephant who never
forgets, but what are we remembering?
This talk will take a look at what our
world is becoming, and perhaps suggest what we can do to make it a little
less imperfect.
About the speaker
Dan Klein began his life of crime in 2nd grade, when he was caught with a pack of firecrackers. Since then his brushes with authority have been sporadic but relentless, but have not managed to deny him a security clearance, a job, or his well deserved reputation as an off-the-wall maverick. His computer experience has included simulation and process control, the internals of almost every Unix kernel released in the past 28 years, graphical user interface management systems, compilers, medical diagnostic systems, the 800 year history of drawing languages, Ada runtime kernels, a racetrack betting system, research into Unix password security, and oddles of CGI scripts. He holds a Masters of Applied Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and in his free time is a photographer, directs a professional a cappella group, and a member of an improvisational comedy troupe. Dan is a frequent invited speaker and tutorial instructor at USENIX, SANS, and assorted courtrooms and classrooms around the world.