The Lesson of the Sony Hack: We Should All Jump to the 'Erasable Internet'

[Commentary] Nothing you say in any form mediated through digital technology -- absolutely nothing at all -- is guaranteed to stay private. The Sony disclosures make the case for creating what I’ve called “the erasable Internet.” The Snapchat Internet is now being built. A range of start-ups across the world, including Snapchat itself, are working to create communications systems that are not based on saving as a default. Someday, perhaps someday soon, it may be possible to quickly and easily send messages that you can be fairly confident are secure. There are two ways to respond to the Sony hack: First, assume everything is public. Go about your business as if all you do on a computer is vulnerable to intrusion and exposure. Second, agitate for a world in which saving is not the default.