Self regulation is the self-imposition of privacy related measures so as to avoid privacy invasion. Even without a law, it is the limiting of the use of gathered personal information by companies or groups that collect such information. It is a voluntary action that follows a clear set of guidelines about how a certain company can protect privacy. Such actions could be done by website advertisers, ISPs, data brokers, social networking sites, apps providers, etc.

The idea of self regulation began in the U.S. in 1997. Since then, this idea has been promoted by way of distributing information and encouraging websites to make it their commitment. However, history shows that not one self-regulatory effort has had prolonged success. There were attempts that were initiated, but failed in one or more significant ways. Others never got the chance to show what they had all about before they disappeared. Although it is believed that self regulation can really help solve privacy problems, reforms in its implementation are needed. There is a strong opinion that consumers themselves have the greatest responsibility in protecting their own privacy.

Observation and evaluation of past self regulation programs reveals that a majority of them were poorly designed. Most of these had poor market penetration, which means that consumers did not really know what they were all about. There were websites that used self regulation only for show, but profit was still their number one priority.

There was another issue that hindered the success of self regulation in the past. This was the lack of meaningful and independent participation among privacy and consumer advocates in its development and supervision. Self regulation supervision that is financed by industry will not be successful because obviously, industry would not want it to succeed. Also, privacy standards that are profit-driven will not do well because money becomes more important than privacy.

In a statement by McAfee, there were 72 organizations targeted, but the total number could reach into the thousands, which include those that have not yet been identified. It was found that the attacks were mostly directed at stealing sensitive information. Analyzing the nature of the attacks, experts believed that the perpetrator is a nation. For privacy reasons, the experts chose not to name the offender.

The espionage slowly wears away at both the economic and national security advantages of the U.S., as stated by a McAfee spokesperson. He considers the activity to be a grave matter as it steals expensive intellectual property. The end result will unfavorably impact jobs and the condition of the economic community. The spokesperson kept other information about the data that is being stolen confidential because making this public might raise privacy concerns of the organizations involved. However, he reiterated that a nation-state is behind all of these attacks.

There were 49 targets that were identified as U.S. based. Some of these include a solar power company, defense contractors, news organizations, real estate companies, and a county government. Those outside of the United States have been identified as a government agency in Taiwan and some Olympic organizations, among others.

Another cybersecurity expert said that when it comes to cyberspace, China and Russia are two of the most active rivals of the U.S. However, any involvement of China in such activities was earlier denied by that country’s government representative. He said that China has no reservations in working with other victims against these kinds of attacks, and emphasized that it is also among the victims. He added that China does not like the way some people linked the country to hacker attacks.

It might take several years before the U.S. feels the toll of stolen data on its economy. Experts have estimated that the country loses as much as $20 billion every year to online espionage. The attacker has the strategy of first trying to weaken the country’s competitive edge before finally dropping the weight.

Most of the presently existing privacy laws were applied way back before high-tech devices came into existence. In the past, a person when searched has with him no more than a wallet, a purse, a hanky, or a keychain. Times have changed. Powerful computing devices now lurk in the pockets and bags of people. These could be cellular phones, flash drives, netbooks, etc. There are yet many more and even more powerful ones to come.

These devices contain enormous amount of data. Whether for personal or business use, they contain sensitive, private, or confidential data. With the present trend of enhancing personal search, there is a need to “hide” these data somewhere else. Thus there is a need for enhanced mobile data storage. In other cases, self destruction of data is also important.

In California, the Supreme Court has ruled out the detailed searches of an arrested person’s phones. This also authorized search of the suspect’s other devices during the time of the arrest. Even without a search warrant, authorities can comprehensively look into all data in these devices. Imagine them going over your photo, address book, Web browsing history, search history, and many more. This is alarming especially for innocent and law-abiding citizens.

Anything could happen during this inspection. There is the risk of data copying, deletion, and other intrusive acts. This would then be clear invasion of privacy.

Open-source systems of enhanced data storage and self-destruction mechanisms were proposed. He enumerated among others five of the initial attributes that should be included. These are options such as:

1. It should enable users to have continuous and automatic back-up in a secure off-device location.
2. It should enable users to specify the degree of data security that they want on a per-item basis.
3. Enhanced data encryption should be secured for all communications between the mobile devices and remote data storage data facilities.
4. Self-destruct mechanisms should be user-friendly especially during emergency and unusual situations.
5. Deleted data after self-destruct should be resistant to reconstruction using forensic technology.

It is true that government wants equal protection of the law for its citizens. One way to ensure this is to uphold their privacy.

Online advertisement agencies have always had a spotted past with privacy laws and their invasion due to the behavioral advertising practices, (where they browse your history to figure out what you are interested in) and the fact that much of this is done with no permission and often without the consumer’s knowledge.

They need to change soon though, because people and lawmakers are complaining. Two subcommittees in the House are meeting this week to discuss implementing more stringent privacy laws as far as online advertising goes. The House has polled major Internet giants such as Yahoo, FaceBook, and MySpace, and found that many of them have very flawed and inadequate privacy guarantees. The people have spoken too; those polled confess they are unsure about how well they are being protected and usually completely unsure of their rights to privacy. Needless to say, the House is almost dead-set on increasing guidelines and enforcing them more strictly.

In actuality, a physical bill governing these privacy failures is unlikely, but the companies get the idea: shape up quick! The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been using a self-regulating system for these advertisers, but when it doesn’t work, kicks in a little regulatory pressure. Basically, the law threats make everyone get their act together.

The House is planning to use a system where first party websites (the one you are surfing) can track and collect cookies, while third party websites have to have permission from the consumer. In other words, an opt-out system for first party websites, (where you have to say if you don’t want to take part) and an opt-in system for third party websites. (where you would have to say you wish to have your information taken)
Although this seems like a good situation, advertisers are a bit nervous about it. In an already faltering economy with most companies barely afloat, this will push some over the edge by not allowing them to access their desired demographics.

What is the best solution? Some suggest that it be totally left up to the consumer to decide whether they wish to share information, but offer incentives for their participation. The solution needs to come soon though, as people spend less money on ads than another other month this year in June.

Media companies are going to have to come up with something quick. It is quite ironic that they so meticulously collect data on us as though we were lab rats, but then will share no fiscal reports or any other financial reports with the public. Something has got to give, and even in these days where privacy seems to be an idyllic memory, it probably won’t be the public.

Even with this larger than life persona, these soldiers are just average people. They value family, happiness, and fun just as much as everybody else. When they signed up for duty, it was with the knowledge that they might have to leave their home for a long period of time. This is just part of the duty, but it doesn’t take away from the ache going away from their home and country will cause.

While traveling or being stationed internationally, some military members get homesick. If you are in a different country for an extended period of time, loneliness can easily dominate your trip. If soldiers begin to find themselves forgetting the smell of an old fashioned barbeque, or the pleasure of hanging out with friends and family, then maybe watching some good old American television is a great way to restore their morale.

Unfortunately re-runs of “The Honeymooners” get old quickly and can lead to a strange affinity for communism. Only kidding, but it can get boring.

Along came internet TV, a godsend to the nomads of the globe. Imagine a soldier’s joy when they get a chance to connect back to their culture, and feel at one with the U.S. again. They could catch up on affairs overseas, whether it is watching the stock market, or just to see what antics Britney Spears has been up to lately.

Soon enough though, media companies wised up, and blocked these homesick people from connecting with their familiarity. Media websites, just like TV, are sponsored by advertising. And most US advertisers do not want to show American ads to people in other countries, it’s a waste of their money.  So all these media websites had to do was read your IP address, which shows that you are not located in the U.S., and once confirmed you were blocked, you got the boot, and quite possibly a “this site has been blocked” message. What is a serviceman to do?  They’re still Americans, probably still a good target for the advertising, but due to geographic location, they are out of luck, right?

Wrong, a private proxy server is the cure to any military member’s intercontinental woes. The media sites that block out-of-country visitors can be defeated by use of a private proxy server. These servers can change your IP address to an American one, and the sites will give you your rightful access to their content. American Military are still citizens of the U.S., and their ability to surf the Internet freely should not stop even though they are away from their homeland.

So a proxy is a simple solution to bypass these virtual roadblocks. Here’s how it works. All Internet connections wear a nametag, (called an IP address) that contains information such as location, server ID, etc. When your computer pulls up to the online blockade, the blockade guard (the internet site) reads your nametag, and if you are not on the approved list, you are kicked out. The proxy would enable your computer to wear a different nametag, so that if you are in Turkey for example, the guard could be made to believe you are in America, and allow you access.

Just as important to our military members abroad, an anonymous proxy does as its name says it should; it keeps you anonymous. The soldier can surf all of the sites that he or she wants without fear of a foreign government busting down their door.  This is true if the proxy offer an encryption service, which encodes and convolutes all data that is entered or output on their computer. This way even if the local government monitored their Internet connection, they would find no incriminating information. Everything is encrypted and would be completely unreadable.

Military personnel around the globe are already using this technology when on Military networks. It makes sense that they should use it for their personal surfing too. An anonymous proxy is perfect for less-than-democratic nations that they are oftentimes stationed in. Censorship has run rampant throughout the world. Countries around the globe such as Turkey have taken the liberty (or lack thereof) to block sites such as the rebellious You Tube. An Oxford Professor even had his personal site blocked due to its conflicting beliefs to a famous Turkish Creationist. It is one thing when people are up to criminal business, but stopping people from reading the New York Times online, or just catching their favorite performance on American Idol again, should not be done. George Orwell would be rolling in his grave if he saw we hadn’t heeded the warning of the dystopian 1984.

On the subject of censorship, the use of an anonymous proxy will help get by government instated blocks. As stated before, our military personnel’s’ rights don’t go out the window just because he or she is stationed in some desolate country. They can beat the foreign censorship. An anonymous proxy will change the user’s IP address, and as before stated, can change it to a U.S. one. More importantly however, this technology is vital in countries where such Internet activities as YouTube are outlawed! Our military personnel don’t want to be incarcerated in a completely different country simply for his or her Internet viewing.

Some of these American military personnel area also business-minded while abroad. For some, work is more therapeutic than play. Instead of enjoying YouTube and other leisure sites, they are surfing the money-markets, doing investments, and staying up to date in the rapidly changing capitalist economy. Everyone knows how well some of these countries uphold and value public security and I bet they would have no ethical problem snooping on a few bank transactions, or some passwords to various sites. Not only is a proxy good for relaxing and reconnecting, it is necessary for doing business while in these ethically ambiguous places.

Everyone has felt the effects of homesickness; maybe you’ve had to stay away for a weekend on a business trip, or even felt homesickness on a leisurely vacation. This is not an imaginary phenomenon, and military personnel stationed outside the U.S. feel it every day. They need something to remind them of home, of freedom; something to look forward to. The endless days away from home seem to pass more quickly if they have a vision of home in mind. The Internet is a great way for them to connect with their culture they were pulled away from. Unfortunately, censorship, ridiculous laws, and other deterrents could stop them from using this comforting device.

An anonymous proxy will combat and effectively defeat this threat on their sense of belonging. They can go where they want on the Internet without being blocked, and without fear of a foreign police force arresting them for updating their FaceBook account, watching videos on YouTube. Proxies are the way for our patriots to stay sane on the forefront of battle, and keep them connected to home in faraway foreign lands.

Privacy groups have claimed that the scanner can show in detail things that are meant to be hidden. “Even genitalia can be discerned in the scan”, some claim. TSA representatives on the other hand, assert that the imager is invades privacy only minimally, and even offers a “privacy algorithm” to further distort sensitive areas on travelers.

The House’s amendment says that these screenings may not be used as the primary form of passenger screenings, and those who refuse the image scanner will be given a less invasive pat down. Senator Chaffetz makes a bold statement on the House’s condemnation: “No one needs to see my wife and kids naked to ensure the security of an airplane.”

The TSA argues the power of these devices though. They insist they are safe for even frequent flyers, and that they can detect hidden threats not even the strongest metal detector could. Still, many people and organizations called to suspend the this technology until an in-depth privacy analysis could be done.

The TSA is currently employing the technology at 19 airports across the U.S. At a recent convention, TSA representative Peter Pietra defended the image scanner: “Much work has gone into this… I personally prefer them. They are much more efficient than a pat down search or a metal detector.”

The TSA is currently accepting any suggestions to improve privacy for flyers at tsaprivacy@dhs.gov.
The government is currently deciding whether to abolish the technology for good, or to keep it as an open option.

Taking into consideration their need to do surfing for personal reasons, there has to be a safe and secure way of doing so. It is here where the use of an anonymous proxy becomes very relevant. By definition, “an anonymous proxy is designed to protect the privacy and anonymity of web browsers from web site operators, Internet snoops, and even unfriendly governments.”

For military personnel who live off base, their identity can be safely hidden by choosing a proxy server that they trust. Through this proxy, a specific website URL can be connected to without actually requesting it through their computers’ unique IP address. Instead, it is the proxy server that forwards their request to the URL thus their identity is completely hidden.

Indiscriminate use of commercially available networks for personal surfing without the use of an anonymous proxy can be very dangerous, especially when the same computers are used for work-related transactions. Important information that involves national security could be easily stolen along the way.

This is the reason why U.S. Military Personnel living off base should avoid using just any network and why they should never send even trivial information about their work from their home PC.

Forgetting about military information for a moment, even when using an anonymous proxy, it is still a good idea to take extra care when giving personal data. If the website that asks for personal information is a scam, your information can be used against you.

Last, access the Internet more securely by using a proxy with which you are familiar. This means that you should know the protocols that it supports. Proxy servers may support FTP (File Transfer Protocol), HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or for the better ones, HTTPS (Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol). In order to prevent packet sniffers from intercepting your data, find an anonymous proxy that allows you to set up an encrypted tunnel.