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This 1966 Article About 'Computer Danger' Predicted a Bleak Future of Bank Crimes and Info Leaks
https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/…
It had to happen sooner or later in this age of industrial espionage, but it is still disquieting to learn that spies already are at work pick­ing the brains of electronic compu­ters.
This revelation came from a meeting on computer privacy spon­sored by the Federal Bar Associa­tion in Washington. One instance cited was a computer expert who programmed his firm’s computer to provide himself with thousands of dollars in free communications services. His embezzlement by computer was not discovered until a friend tipped the firm.
Sufficient numbers of other cases have been uncovered to cause concern that the revolution in infor­mation storage has opened new vis­tas for the unscrupulous. The com­puter age is in its infancy. By the time it is in full bloom a few years from now, most written records will have been replaced by central banks which can divulge the inner­most secrets of an individual or a firm literally at the push of a but­ton.
Banks have never been able to completely safeguard against rob­bery or embezzlement, but they protect their customers with insur­ance. What insurance can compen­sate a person whose life’s secrets have been spilled to a blackmailer, or a firm whose secret processes or customer list have been sold to a competitor?
Many persons are concerned by the assault on personal privacy by electronic listening devices. These instruments are child’s play com­pared to the possibilities in compu­ter espionage.
The Internal Revenue Service, which has a questionable history of divulging its records to many feder­al and state agencies anyway, now has 68 million tax returns stored in one computer operated by a 30-man team. The IRS has found certain of its confidential tax information being passed to private investiga­tors.
Every man, it is said, has his price. That goes double for compu­ters controlled by men.