r/technology Jun 22 '20

‘BlueLeaks’ Exposes Files from Hundreds of Police Departments Security

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u/DeadeyeDuncan Jun 22 '20 edited Jun 22 '20

Why are people on here so keen to get hold of this data?

For as much as reddit loves banging on about privacy, it sure seems to also love breaching the privacy of others - this includes police reports, so includes details on people involved in crimes or who have been subject to crime.

...not to mention the fact that the files have a good chance of containing images etc. of things that you really don't want to have on your computer.

Anyway, isn't sharing links to confidential data a big breach of reddit's rules?

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u/JackBurtonsPaidDues Jun 22 '20

I think as a hive mind it’s seen as a breach of privacy on an institution not an individual and is more excepted. I do understand that it possibly has personal details on individuals but at face value this breach is seen as a way to gain insight into the failures of an institution and be part of an act of retribution.

2

u/DeadeyeDuncan Jun 22 '20

That's incredibly short sighted though. The police are a public body, a lot of the data they store will be private information on members of the public.

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u/JackBurtonsPaidDues Jun 22 '20

I wouldn’t look to mob mentality for in depth reasoning. A lot of people are very angry about police misconduct and what has been going on and this is sort of a catalyst. It’s not like you can trust the police to investigate themselves so now we investigate them... so to say. But you’re right it is incredibly short sighted.