Harold Stoner Clark Lectures

David Holtzman, a former security analyst and military code-breaker, a futurist, activist, technologist, technology executive and writer, will speak at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Throughout his career, he has led initiatives that have radically changed the way people interact with technology. His most recent book is Privacy Lost: How Technology Is Endangering Your Privacy.

An Internet pioneer who helped oversee the Internet’s growth from its infancy in the mid-1990s through the dot-com boom, Holtzman was Chief Technology Officer of Network Solutions and manager of the Internet’s master root server where he ran the most critical network in the world, the domain name system, and oversaw the growth of the commercial Internet from 500,000 to more than 20 million domain names.

A former cryptographic analyst, Russian linguist and submariner with the U.S. Navy Security Group, Holtzman is quoted widely on major news media. He currently serves as President of GlovalPOV, a firm he founded to explore significant tech issues in more detail. Holtzman publishes daily comments on topics such as privacy, intellectual property, business and pop culture on his blog www.globalpov.com.

In his 10 a.m. lecture titled “Privacy Lost – How technology affects privacy,” Holtzman will discuss what he considers one of society’s greatest challenges over the next 25 years – how we reconcile desirable advances in information technology with respect for the individual. Do we try to regulate intrusive technology, find new ways to protect ourselves as individuals or redefine what we think of as privacy? Is it too late to even try? How do we reconcile our societal desire for security in a post 9/11 world against the individual’s need for privacy?

In the 4 p.m. lecture “Online Identities: @ttribution, not retribution,” Holtzman explores the ways in which the Internet has changed the very definition of privacy and personal identity. The legal system does not yet reflect these new concepts, nor is it likely to for many years. Lacking a comprehensive legal protection, how do we preserve our privacy and protect our identities as more and more of our business and personal lives take place online?

This is the 22nd annual Harold Stoner Clark Lecture Series, endowed by the late Mr. Clark and sponsored by the Department of Philosophy. Admission is free.