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Data and Goliath

Data and Goliath

by Bruce Schneier

First published 2015 · 383 pages · about 6 hours to read · Some adult content

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About this book

A primarily U.S.-centric view of the who, what and why of massive data surveillance at the time of the book's publication (2015).

Data and Goliath is a 2015 nonfiction book by security technologist Bruce Schneier about the mass collection of personal data by companies and governments. It explains how that data is gathered, who uses it, and why, with a focus on the United States at the time of publication. Readers come to it for a clear, non-specialist account of surveillance and for its argument about what policy and individuals could do about it.

Schneier starts from the everyday fact that phones, websites, cards and cars record what people do, and asks who is collecting these records, what they do with them, and what that means for privacy and power.

Summary written with AI from the book's details.

Will you like it?

Readers interested in how phones, websites and everyday transactions turn into data for companies and governments will find a clear, non-specialist account here. The book is written by a security expert and centres on U.S. examples and policy.

  • mass data collection
  • corporate and state surveillance
  • privacy and power
  • policy and law

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Quick answers

What age is Data and Goliath for?
Adults.
Is Data and Goliath a standalone?
Yes, it stands on its own.
Does Data and Goliath have violence, sex or strong language?
Nothing a reader needs warning about.

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Reader's guide

Themesmass data collection, corporate surveillance, government surveillance, privacy and power, policy and law, trust in institutions

mass data collection · corporate surveillance · government surveillance · privacy and power · policy and law · trust in institutions

StyleExpository nonfiction written in plain, direct prose for general readers, with a security expert's precision, many concrete examples and some technical explanation. It is organised by topic in parts and chapters, and runs to about 383 pages.

Expository nonfiction written in plain, direct prose for general readers, with a security expert's precision, many concrete examples and some technical explanation. It is organised by topic in parts and chapters, and runs to about 383 pages.

How it was writtenBruce Schneier is an American cryptographer and security technologist, known for books such as Applied Cryptography and Secrets and Lies. Data and Goliath was published in 2015 by W. W. Norton and was written after the 2013 disclosures by Edward Snowden about U.S. and allied intelligence programmes, which shaped the public debate it addresses.

Bruce Schneier is an American cryptographer and security technologist, known for books such as Applied Cryptography and Secrets and Lies. Data and Goliath was published in 2015 by W. W. Norton and was written after the 2013 disclosures by Edward Snowden about U.S. and allied intelligence programmes, which shaped the public debate it addresses.

How it was receivedThe book was generally regarded as an accessible introduction to data surveillance for non-specialists, praised for its clarity and for bringing together commercial and government surveillance in one account. Its policy proposals drew debate, and it is still read as an overview of the issues from the mid-2010s.

The book was generally regarded as an accessible introduction to data surveillance for non-specialists, praised for its clarity and for bringing together commercial and government surveillance in one account. Its policy proposals drew debate, and it is still read as an overview of the issues from the mid-2010s.

Questions to discussSchneier argues that corporate data collection and government surveillance are linked. Do you agree, and where do the two overlap in your own experience?

These may talk about the whole book.

  1. Schneier argues that corporate data collection and government surveillance are linked. Do you agree, and where do the two overlap in your own experience?
  2. What do you think of the book's view that surveillance is a set of choices rather than an unavoidable result of technology?
  3. Which of the trade-offs the book describes between security, convenience and privacy seems hardest to resolve, and why?
  4. The book is written with a mainly U.S. focus. How might its arguments change for readers in other countries with different laws?
  5. Does the information about how data is used change how you think about the apps and services you use every day?
  6. Which of the policy or individual measures proposed seems most realistic, and which seems least likely to work?
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