I thoroughly enjoyed debating whether privacy's dead at the IEE Law and Security event

Details of the event can be found here . The panel session debated whether privacy's dead given the ever greater power afforded to government and law enforcement to inspect electronic communications.

Clearly this is a contentious topic and there is a powerful privacy lobby particularly in Europe.

IMO as long as there are easily accessible points of access to the Internet such as insecure wireless networks it will be easy for malicious individuals to maintain their anonynimity. I believe that privacy is a right for the individual and this must be balanced with the requirements of law enforcement.