The leak of the BNP member list at the beginning of the week, and its subsequent use in various internet map-based mashups just goes to show how big an issue privacy is when it comes to the internet. Politics and viewpoints aside, it highlights how careful organisations need to be when handling personal information in electronic form.

On the internet, no one knows you're a dog

The apparent anoniminity of the internet and the speed with which information can be disseminated means that once someone gets hold of some data that's harmful to your organisation or membership, there's little you can do to stop them releasing it.

While the press had to abide by an injunction preventing them publishing details of the BNP member list, no such powers exist on the internet. True, if you can identify who's responsible for operating the server on which it's posted then you can get them to take it down - but what with sites like Wikileaks specifically setup to publish leaked sensitive information there's little you can do once it's out there.

Torrent of abuse

That's not mention other distribution methods like Bit Torrent, which have no central control mechanism anyway. However, this brings up another issue - how much do you trust an anonymous source?

It wouldn't be that hard to take the current BNP list, add in a few entries for old school teachers, previous partners and that weird bloke in the office that hums to himself, and then send it out to the big wide internet or bang it up on Bit Torrent. Hey presto - instant vigilante mob dispatched to your victim's address and awkward questions from their employer.

Anonymity is one of the things that makes the internet great - but it's also its biggest downfall. Everyone knows you can't even rely on Wikipedia without double checking it first, so how do you know that list of BNP members is anywhere near accurate? Something you may want to consider next time before forwarding on an email that claims to identify something or someone that supposedly press aren't allowed to.

Related:
News: Interactive BNP member list Google Map created, then taken down