The Broken Window

The organization was like EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, he explained. PN challenged threats to individuals’ privacy from the government, businesses and financial institutions, computer providers, telephone companies, and commercial data brokers and miners. The organization lobbied in Washington, sued the government under the Freedom of Information Act to find out about surveillance programs, and sued individual corporations that weren’t complying with privacy and disclosure laws.

Sachs didn’t tell him about the data trap Rodney Szarnek had put together but explained in general terms how they were looking for SSD customers and employees who might be able to patch together dossiers. “The security seems very tight. But that was what Sterling and his people told us. I wanted an outside opinion.”

“Happy to help.”

“Mark Whitcomb told us about the concrete firewalls and keeping the data divided up.”

“Who’s Whitcomb?”

“He’s with their Compliance Department.”

“Never heard of it. It’s new.”

Sachs explained, “The department is like a consumer advocate within the company. To make sure all government regulations are complied with.”

Geddes seemed pleased, though he added, “That didn’t come about out of the goodness of Andrew Sterling’s heart. They probably got sued once too often and wanted to make a good show for the public and Congress. Sterling’s never going to give one inch if he doesn’t have to… But about the data pens, that’s true. Sterling treats data like the Holy Grail. And hacking in? Probably impossible. And there is no way anybody could physically break in and steal data.”

“He told me that very few employees can log on and get dossiers from innerCircle. As far as you know, is that true?”

“Oh, yeah. A few of them have to have access but nobody else. I never did. And I was there from the beginning.”

“Do you have any thoughts? Maybe any employees with a troubling past? Violent?”

“It’s been a few years. And I never thought anybody was particularly dangerous. Though, I’ve got to say, despite the big happy family façade Sterling likes to put on, I never really got to know anyone there.”

“What about these individuals?” She showed him the list of suspects.

Geddes looked it over. “I worked with Gillespie. I knew Cassel. I don’t like either of them. They’re caught up in the whole data-mining curve, like Silicon Valley in the nineties. Hotshots. I don’t know the others. Sorry.” Then he studied her closely. “So you’ve been there?” he asked with a cool smile. “What’d you think of Andrew?”

Her thoughts jammed as she tried to come up with a brief summary of her impressions. Finally: “Determined, polite, inquisitive, smart but…” Her voice petered out.

“But you don’t really know him.”

“Right.”

“Because he presents the great stone face. In all the years I worked with him I never really knew him. Nobody knows him. Unfathomable. I love that word. That’s Andrew. I was always looking for clues… You notice something odd about his bookshelves?”

“You couldn’t see the spines of the books.”

“Exactly. I snuck a peek once. Guess what? They weren’t about computers or privacy or data or business. They were mostly history books, philosophy, politics: the Roman Empire, Chinese emperors, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Stalin, Idi Amin, Khrushchev. He read a lot about the Nazis. Nobody used information the way they did and Andrew doesn’t hesitate to tell you. First major use of computers to keep track of ethnic groups. That’s how they consolidated power. Sterling’s doing the same in the corporate world. Notice the company name, SSD? The rumor is he chose it intentionally. SS-for the Nazi elite army. SD-for their security and intelligence agency. You know what his competitors say it stands for? ‘Selling Souls for Dollars.’” Geddes laughed grimly.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. Andrew doesn’t dislike Jews. Or any other group. Politics, nationality, religion and race mean nothing to him. I heard him say once, ‘Data have no borders.’ The seat of power in the twenty-first century is information, not oil or geography. And Andrew Sterling wants to be the most powerful man on earth… I’m sure he gave you the data-mining-is-God speech.”

“Saving us from diabetes, helping us afford Christmas presents and houses and solving cases for the police?”

“That’s the one. And all of it’s true. But tell me if those benefits are worth somebody knowing every detail about your life. Maybe you don’t care, provided you save a few bucks. But do you really want ConsumerChoice lasers scanning your eyes in a movie theater and recording your reactions to those commercials they run before the movie? Do you want the RFID tag in your car key to be available to the police to know that you hit a hundred miles an hour last week, when your route only took you along roads that were posted fifty? Do you want strangers knowing what kind of underwear your daughter wears? Or exactly when you’re having sex?”

“What?”