Patrolling the Digital World
“The double-edged sword of technology,” it can be used as a tool in order to help society advance and also as a malicious weapon to hold society back. Over the last decade social networking has grown increasingly popular and has become one of the most essential tools in promotion or interconnectivity with peers. That’s a good thing right? It maybe too good of a thing in my opinion. That is one of the reasons why I deleted my facebook account. I did not like the fact of how easily someone else can obtain some of your most personal information – to know your name, where your from, your social interconnections with others, along with having pictures and facial recognition scanners to confirm that you are exactly who you say you are. One of my peers Alexandra Roman stated on her blog "Mums The Word" that even employers and college recruiters are using social networks to investigate their employees or potential students personal lives. Anyone can access your information. Not just on social networking sites but just about anything you put on the Internet is liable to be pirated and used against you, it just seems as if many of these social networking sites are just one-stop shops for hackers to come and take information.
But to the extent in which hackers are taking information extends way beyond just social networks. While I was searching the Internet I found an article that explained that a cyberterrorism group called “AntiSec” gained access to over 70 law enforcement websites and released over 10 gigabytes of information including, emails, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, along with other compromising information. Hacking groups have even claimed to steal information from the US Senate, in addition to blocking access to Visa, MasterCard, CIA, and several NewsCorp websites.
This leads me to think that no one is safe. If you have information on the Internet whether personal or public it can be accessed. No longer are criminals just around our physical communities. They are everywhere, and especially online and in higher volumes because there are no boundaries to the Internet. Anyone globally with Internet access can potentially be a criminal.
The tactics and goals for Hackers have vastly changes over the years. Hackers in the 80s and 90s are much different than the hackers of today. Going back 20 years people hacked for a past time and to gain recognition in the computer world. However today, hackers are professionally recruited to implement crimes of malice, for tremendous capital gain. In one sense, cyberterrorism has become less of a hobby and more of a profession amongst hackers. But some hackers claim that cyberterrorism is used as a form of protest. This is very similar to the motives of freedom fighters, or “terrorists” (depending on your perspective) of the natural world. Some believe what they are actually doing is for a good cause. A member of AntiSec stated, "We stand in support of all those who struggle against the injustices of the state and capitalism using whatever tactics are most effective, even if that means breaking their laws in order to expose their corruption.” Basically claiming that members of the government have been using hacking tactics for years on its own citizens. However, when the act is conducted on them it is deemed problematic.
To a certain extent I agree with this member of AntiSec both in the physical and cyber world. In the physical world, the US military goes into foreign countries in order to stop injustices, while in fact creating injustices themselves. For instance, we go into Afghanistan in order to dismantle terrorist groups who kill, by killing them and other people. There really isn’t any justification to it. In the cyber world, just last month NewsCorp was allegedly accused of hacking emails and phone calls of various people in order to get stories. What is stopping the government from gaining information on us? Nothing.
I believe in stopping oppression and there needs to be some sort of transparency between both the government and its citizens. It seems about every month some new information is leaked about something the government is doing or did that its citizens weren’t entirely aware of what really was going on (i.e. Julian Asange and Wikileaks). Yes, hacking and cyberterrorism is a major problem but our government needs to prevent itself from commiting these same crimes against its citizens. Our online security needs to be increased, because it seems as if hackers have the upper hand on some of the most advanced security companies.
In this day and age time crime is everywhere. One cannot even be sure to say they are safe within the confines of their own household. Acts such as cyberterrorism is steadily growing and becoming more popular due to its elusive nature and the lax penalties given to online perpetrators. We need to implement stronger penalties to violators of cyberterrorist acts in order to deter others from committing the same acts.
BECAUSE DRE THE PROPHET SAYS SO!!!
Hacking Articles
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/06/hacking.websites/index.html?hpt=ju_c2
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/06/hypponen.cybrcrime.ted/index.html?hpt=hp_c2