I'm wrapping up an Ethical Hacking course this semester and I think it's safe to say that most people would be really freaked out by some of the forensic tools that have been developed for not only collecting information but establishing the relationships between the pieces of data. There are tools that will allow you to put in one piece of information it will scour the public Internet for e-mail addresses, physical addresses, social media accounts, postings on non-social media sites, e-mails sent, documents created by the individual, phone numbers, pictures...you get the idea. The software presents it all in a graph-like format so you can click your way through and expand on whatever you want. Some more nefarious tools use common exploits to attempt to get not-so-public information. In theory, any information that you've provided to an entity that is connected to the Internet could be at risk. Utility companies, banks, retail stores, your employer, etc. It's very difficult to be truly off the grid, but some people are.
These tools make child's play out of what used to be a tedious web search. Entering my name instantly delivers a satellite pic of my house and my facebook profile pic. The former is public record, the latter is because I use social media. It is what it is. The only thing that bothers me a little is that my and my dad's history are intertwined and inaccurate. We have the same first and last names, but different middle initials. This search came up with his middle initial but all my info. I get credit card offers in the mail in his name. I believe it was Bank of America that screwed it up when banking first went online. I suddenly had access to his info, and he to mine. Since they sell information, here we are. It's fixed now but the damage is done apparently.
