Recently there's been quite an outcry over Carrier IQ's software, which is on many smartphones and allows keystroke logging and capture of almost anything you do on your phone and transmit. Google's Eric Schmidt condemned the use of the software, and there are numerous lawsuits being filed.

Whether you think this software is legitimate or Carrier IQ and the carriers had the right to deploy it, you should be aware that from a public perspective this is a failure of software. It seems as though a back door of sorts, a spy program has been developed and approved by companies that sell cellular phone services, and it is a poor reflection of their business.

Read the rest of "Data and Privacy" at SQLServerCentral.