Sometimes the news stories of any particular week are uplifting and remind me that privacy is an interesting and challenging industry. Other weeks, the stories are downright depressing. This week, unfortunately, it’s the latter.

Of course, it’s not all the news that is depressing, but two stories in particular highlight just how awful some people can be when given new technology and how, with certain advances, our privacy is at risk. Incidentally, both stories are out of Calgary.

First, there’s the story of a person who called himself CreepyCanada on Twitter and posted photos and videos of women he spied on. The privacy rights of the victims need some vindication here, and I hope the police are able not only to find this individual, but also to bring him to justice for being so callous and invasive. 

The second is about a hacker (or group of hackers) who thought they could shame a Calgary Casino by going public and posting the sensitive personal information they were able to obtain during their hack. And, as the story goes on to explain, the hackers are intent on divulging even more. I wonder if it’s the same group behind the attack on Ashley Madison? Same operating procedures. Isn’t there a better way to get businesses to follow privacy rules without implicating others?

Protecting privacy rights … not an easy task at the best of times, when businesses are trying to innovate ethically. Even more challenging when there are nutjobs like these running around, going by their own rules.