Escrowed Data and the Digital Envelope

As computers continue to permeate all aspects of our lives, there is a growing tension between the requirements of societal security and individual privacy. Societal security encompasses all ways in which we try to make the world more secure, including transport security, financial security, infrastructure security, etc. A prime mechanism for achieving this security involves collecting quantities of data about individuals, for example via ISP logs, mobile phone logs, ticketing systems, and banking systems. As a result, massive databases about every aspect of our lives are being collected by organisations in all the major industrial sectors (financial, transport, retail, telecom, internet, and health care).