Privacy and cybersecurity professionals, creators of digital property, and countless policy-makers have spent decades fighting to civilize the digital world, but they have lacked the most fundamental tool they need to succeed, namely — information systems engineering that enables true control of digital data.

It is now possible to change the paradigm of the digital world from “Use At Your Own Risk,” to “My Data, My Rules.” Imagine such a world, if you can! Too many individuals and organizations are resigned to large-scale computer based surveillance, invasion, and expropriation. The purpose of this paper is to explain, in plain language, why we believe that resignation to be unwarranted.