To security professionals, Bruce Schneier is considered a guru. His book, Applied Cryptography is considered the authoritative book on computer security, and is the first book anyone should purchase when considering entering the field.

Bruce has published an article in Wired entitled, “The Eternal Value of Privacy“, where he defends an almost Calvinistic distrust in the goodness of those in authority.

While the entirety of the brief article is a must-read, his summary quote should challenge anyone who argues that “If you aren’t doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide?”

Too many wrongly characterize the debate as “security versus privacy.” The real choice is liberty versus control. Tyranny, whether it arises under threat of foreign physical attack or under constant domestic authoritative scrutiny, is still tyranny. Liberty requires security without intrusion, security plus privacy. Widespread police surveillance is the very definition of a police state. And that’s why we should champion privacy even when we have nothing to hide.