Our privacy is for sale

The capability of remotely accessing a person's biological data is a fascinating innovation that I thought it could only happen in science fiction movies. But it's real…

However, in an age of high-tech surveillance, I can't help but ask, what if this data becomes available not just to our doctor, but to state officials, insurance companies, SMS marketers or anyone with technical know-how?

A recent report in the Sabah daily stated that the personal data of Turkish credit card holders is being sold on the Internet for small sums of money. According to the report, it only costs TL 2500 ($1225) to get the personal data of 1 million card holders, including the expiration date and security number of the credit card and its holder's telephone number.

There is more specific data for sale, too, such as fitness club member details, a list of people who live in Etiler (one of the richest places in İstanbul), hospital statistics, a list of people who earn more than TL 10,000 a month and a list of foods most often ordered from Internet. The list goes on.

Transmitting my pulse to a doctor over the Internet is fascinating, but the idea of such data being sold to an SMS spammer is frightening. Banks, companies and the state should take serious measures to protect our privacy; otherwise, these technological advancements have the potential to easily turn our lives into a nightmare.