TECH TALK WITH GAMAL A. HUMMAD

“1984” is a title of George Orwell’s book, published in 1949. Orwell’s figment of imagination, fictionally prophesied in “1984” has now become a naked reality. Yes, “Big Brother” is watching all of us. For real.

Thanks to massive advances in telecommunications technology, we have become unwitting enablers in the surveillance of our daily activities for the benefit of “Big Brother”. And we are paying heavily to be spied on.

So, how does “Big Brother” do it? Via cellphones, tablets, laptops and other computing devices. A cellphone in your pocket, or purse is a perfect tracking device, which transmits your exact location at all times via its built-in GPS, even when it is turned off, as determined by Princeton University researchers. While in use, your cellphone will meticulously generate, record, save, catalogue and archive all content you create. Thinking of those selfies or intimate talks you had with a loved one? Yes, will be there for “Big Brother” to snoop on.

With an active SIM card and Wi-Fi tools, your cellphone is wirelessly connected on demand to any of billions of other cellphones, tablets and computers worldwide. All it takes is the confirmation that you are the owner or the user of a cellphone of interest. This job is done by your telecom services provider, which knows a lot about you.

Every cellphone has a 15-digit unique IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number. Your cellphone service provider, which does the actual spying, is identified by another unique MSIN (Mobile Subscription Identification Number). These two distinctive sets of numbers are combined to create an identity tag of the cellphone. If “Big Brother” wants you, all he needs is this tag number to easily access all content you generated since you first started using a cellphone.

Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and other firms, collect large user data to determine your buying habits. But government-run security agencies worldwide have a different intent.

I wonder if Orwell is bewildered in his grave by the spot-on realization of his fictional prophecy?