Thieves Steal Identities to Tap Home Equity

According to the Washington Post, "Federal authorities this week announced a series of arrests and convictions in connection with a global identity theft ring that stole millions of dollars by hijacking home-equity lines of credit issued to thousands of consumers" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/27/AR2008112702027.html).

Not only does this article show the real danger of hacking in society today, it also calls into question the steps people should be taking to protect themselves on the internet. The steps people can take include (but certainly aren't limited to): Using anti virus software, being wary of email attachments, installing firewalls, protecting passwords, updating security patches, backing up data, and logging offline when you're done using the internet(http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/79secure.htm).

While the steps above will help, its obvious that it is not enough. While the hackers used advanced techniques, they also used basic con techniques. More specifially, these hackers targeted people with good credit and large, untapped home-equity lines of credit, diug through public records -- such as property deeds and mortgages -- as well as publicly available Internet databases to obtain credit applications, credit reports and victim signatures.( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/27/AR2008112702027.html) In order to counter these techniques, more advanced software needs to be developed. However, until software is developed, it is up to each individual to take the basic steps (listed above) to protect themselves on the internet.

Facebook Group Creator detained by Croatian Police

Recently, A man who launched a Facebook group critical of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader was detained and questioned by police. This event brings up some interesting points regarding the interaction between the law and the worldwide web. First of all, it calls attention to the ever growing power of social outlets such as Facebook, Myspace, etc. The fact that a Facebook group was considered a threat to the prestige of the Croatian government shows this growing power. This power can be attributed to the amount of people that one is able to reach just through creating a Facebook group and the amount of people that utilize Facebook in general. This very fact calls into question whether or not the Croatian government may have overstepped it's boundaries by trying to regulate sites such as Facebook. Is this not a violation of free speech? Do people not have the right to express their opinions? What is particularly interesting is the contradiction between this act and what is stated in the Croatian constitution.
Article 3 [State Values] states:
Freedom, equal rights, national equality and equality of genders, love of peace, social justice, respect for human rights, inviolability of ownership, conservation of nature and the environment, the rule of law, and a democratic multiparty system are the highest values of the constitutional order of the Republic of Croatia and the ground for interpretation of the Constitution.

Does the stripping away of ones ability to express themselves not contradict the ideals of a democratic society? It almost seems hypocritical for the Croatian government to lay out these principles in their constitution and then regulate free speech as they have.

Rather than actually detaining an individual, the Croatian government may come up with other deterrents to stop people from using the internet to bash their government. For example, a disclaimer could possibly put out that these groups will be removed immediately from facebook as soon as they were posted. This could potentially stop people from posting them in the first place.

Overall, this event can possibly serve as evidence of increased internet regulation. This increased interenet regulation may be eventually correlated to the loss of "inalienable" rights.

Myspace Suicide Case Verdict

Recently the case involving a young girl who committed suicide after being taunted by a 49 year old women and her daughter was tried. The court found the 49 year old women (Lori Drew) guilty of three misdemeanors for computer fraud. It seems that this ruling was based mainly on the fact that the young girl, Megan Meier, was known to have a history of depression and suicidal tendencies.

I think this case calls attention how new of a technology websites like Myspace and Facebook are. In this sense, positive outcomes can actually be seen from this case. According to New York lawyer, Nick Akerman, "This case will be simply another important step in the expanded use of this statute to protect the public from computer crime."

While this case may serve as a stepping stone regarding the regulation of cyberbullying, state law already exists that adresses it. While most of the state law regards cyberbullying in schoool, I feel as if much of it could be applied across the board. According to USA Today, "a New Jersey bill added electronic communication to the definition of bullying in school policies. While the law refers to bullying in schools, new state guidelines say school administrators "may impose consequences for acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying that occur off school grounds, such as cyberbullying," but only when those acts substantially disrupt school". (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-06-cyber-bullying-list_N.htm) Had this case occurred in New Jersey, this law very well could have applied.

Although the outcome of this case is horrible, I don't disagree with the sentencing. It would be very difficult to prove that Meier committed suicide based on the cyberbullying beyond a reasonable doubt as she had a history of depression and suicidal tendencies. However, this does not change the fact that this event and those alike, is a tragedy.

EX-PHILLY TV ANCHOR GETS HOUSE ARREST FOR HACKING

According to BNA Internet Law news, recently, "A former TV newsman in Philadelphia who said he felt threatened by his co-anchor's "rising star" was sentenced to six months of house arrest after hacking into her e-mail and leaking gossip that contributed to her downfall". This displays exactly how easy it is to "hack". This article also ultimately displays the impact hacking can have on the victim in both their social life and professional lfie. In order to protect against hacking in general, I feel as if it is up to the individual to protect themselves. An individual can take numerous precautions in order to ensure this protection. Articles like this one display the obvious vulnerabilities of internet programs. Therefore it is up to each and everyone of us to look out for ourselves to avoid this type of invasion of privacy and those alike.

Facebook removes Italian neo-Nazi pages

According to a recent BNA Internet Law news article, the European parliament filed a complaint with Facebook regarding pages that promoted violence against gypsies. According to facebook, ""Facebook supports the free flow of information, and groups provide a forum for discussing important issues. However, Facebook will remove any groups which are violent or threatening". This very attribute of Facebook gives one an idea of the power that it wields. By posting information or opinion on facebook, one is able to reach a large audience. Evidence for this statement is provided by the fact that I can think of few people that do not have a facebook. By accessing this outlet, individuals are therefore able to share information that may very well be harmful. It seems as if Facebook needs to take the necessary precautions in order to stop this potentially harmful information from being posted in the first place.

HACKERS ACCESS SOME WHITE HOUSE EMAILS

According to an article published by BNA Internet Law News, "Emails that were going to the highest levels of the White House were ending up with the central authorities in China," said O. Sami Saydjari, president of the Cyber Defense Agency, a consulting firm." Although these emails were not classified, it still brings to light the ability (of people with the expertise) to retrieve information. What is even more disturbing is how often this goes on, whether or not it's made public or not. "The more that you see, the more numb you become to it," said one U.S. official familiar with the White House breach, who added that the mounting volume of attacks are of great concern. This mounting volume of attack is calling attention the fact that security measure presently being taken simply aren't cutting it.

GOOGLE'S GROWTH MAKES PRIVACY ADVOCATES WARY

The article I'm dealing with in this blog post deals with the level of power Google has attained throughout the years. This article points specifically to the the storage of search queries on the site. What worries people of this type of storage is the potential for the invasion of privacy. According to Google though, many of the accusations are not necessarily legitimate and can be attributed to a certain level of naivety of how the system works amongst critics. In defense of their position, representatives of Google claims that they only collect information to provide their service : " "You're flying blind without that information, so we have to collect a little bit," he said. "But we're really (collecting) the bare minimum we can to provide that service." Criticisms and defenses aside, this article brings the potential of privacy invasion in the future to the forefront (through the internet in particular).