Hindi maipagkakailang lalong nagiging tanyag ang pag gamit ng mga mobile devices. Sa kabila nito, lalo din namang nadadagdagan ang bilang ng mga cyber crimes. Sa ngayon, ang internet ay accessible o bukas halos sa lahat, gamit ang smartphones at iba pang digital devices. Ito ang isa sa malalaking dahilan upang ang mga maykapangyarihan ay maghanap ng makabagong paraan upang labanan ang ganitong uri ng mga krimen. Hindi na umuubra ang mga nakagawiang paraan; kailangan ang maparaang pagharap dito, gamit din ang teknolohiyang gamit ng mga cyber criminals.

Sa state ng California sa United States of America, itinatag ang bagong eCrime Unit upang manghuli at maglitis ng mga internet crooks. Ang team na ito ay binuo ng isang state attorney general at kinabibilangan ng dalawampung abogado at imbestigador. Bihasa sila sa mga makabagong paraan upang matunton at matukoy ang mga maysala. Kabilang sa mga tinututukan ng team na ito ay mga email scams, piracy, child pornography, online fraud, at marami pang iba. Kawawa lamang ang mga taong nabiktima at patuloy na nabibiktima mapa-offline man o mapa-online.

Naipakulong na ng team ang isang lalaking nahatulan ng guilty sa kasong hacking ng mga email at Facebook accounts. Marami nang nabiktima ang lalaking ito na ang karaniwang modus ay pasukin ang account ng ibang user. Pagkatapos ay maghahanap siya ng mga kontrobersiyal na larawan ng may-ari ng account. Tatakutin niya ito na ikakalat sa internet ang mga larawan kapag hindi sinunod ang gusto niya.

Ang internet ay napakahalaga sa ekonomiya, sa mga tao, at sa mga negosyo. Dahil dito, hindi na kailangang maghanap ng biktima ang mga cyber criminals. Napakaraming maaaring maging biktima ng pagnanakaw ng mga impormasyon. Ang taong 2012 ay nakikinikinitang magiging taon ng matinding pakikipaglaban sa online crimes. Naranasan noong isang taon ang napakaraming mga scams at inaasahang marami pang darating ngayong taon.

Ito naman ang dahilan ng pagpapaigting ng kampanya laban sa ecrime. Ang bagong eCrime Unit ay naglalayong makagawa ng isang bagong trend ng pakikipaglaban sa online crimes. Sinabi ng attorney general mula California na gusto nilang manguna sa makabagong paraan sa paghahanap at paglilitis ng mga maysala. Gamit ang internet technology na siya ring gamit ng mga criminal, mapatutunayang ang batas ay mangingibabaw sa lahat ng oras.

The continuous increase in data breaches at health care providers has raised privacy concerns. There were some studies conducted in order to find out the main cause of these breaches. Some of the hospitals surveyed said that it is due to insufficient funding for security. Others said that lost or stolen devices contributed greatly to the sudden surge in data breaches. The first reason could be attributed more to the government’s priorities in dispensing funds, but the second one seems to point to human error, or the lack of knowledge on the part of the health care professionals on how to secure patient data.

Mobile technology is now widely used in almost all private and public organizations. The use of smartphones or tablets has made it very convenient for people to manage data. Doctors and other health care professionals are now using these gadgets for electronic health records. These tools, as observers point out, lack the much needed, required security. Working on their own, some doctors are using these gadgets without ample knowledge on the use of encryption technology, or even passwords.

Maliban sa mga pekeng e-cards, meron pang ibang uri ng phishing scam sa internet. Makatutulong ng malaki kung ikaw ay may kaalaman sa mga ito. Kung sakali mang “makasalubong” mo ang ganitong mga estilo, alam mo na ang iyong gagawin. Sa ganoon, mananatili kang ligtas sa ibat-ibang paraan ng panloloko.

Kung ikaw ay naghahanap ng trabaho gamit ang mga online ads, umiwas sa mga nanghihingi ng iyong mga personal na impormasyon. Marami sa mga cyber criminals ang nagtatago sa likod nga mga legal na job sites para lamang magmukhang tunay din sila. Ang iba sa kanila ay gumagamit pa ng mga sikat na logo o ng mga salitang nakapanghihikayat nang sa ganoo’y makuha ang iyong atensyon. Malalaman mo na lang na peke pala ang mga links na kanilang ginagamit. Kapag pinindot mo ang mga ito, dadalhin ka lamang sa website ng isang kompanyang animo’y totoo, subalit wala palang ganoon.

Kung hindi manghihingi ng iyong personal na impormasyon, meron namang pagbabayarin ka kapalit ng isang serbisyo. Marami nang naging biktima ng ganitong estilo at sa katunayan, dumarami pa ang naloloko. Pagkatapos magbayad, saka palang nila malalamang wala naman palang ganoong klaseng serbisyo. Mahirap pa naman silang mahuli dahil biglang “nagsasara” ang kanilang kompanya at hindi mo na sila mahahagilap.

Law makers have submitted to the appropriate committee a Congressional bill entitled “The Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011”. Concerns have been raised by privacy advocates who said that so far, this would be the greatest threat yet to civil liberties. According to them, many internet users believe that this legislation is necessary and relevant to address child pornography. Such line of thinking is expected because every person in their right mind would always detest child pornography.

But why are these privacy advocates reacting negatively on the proposed law? The reason is that such legislation would turn each person who uses the internet into a victim. They argue that this law, if passed, would oblige all internet service providers, or ISPs, to track all on line activities of every user and save the information for 18 months. As an additional requirement, ISPs are supposed to store this data together with the user’s name, home address, bank account and credit card numbers, and their assigned IP address.

An argument raised says that tracking all of the user’s internet activities is not the solution to the problem on internet child pornography. Compared to the millions of internet users, there are only very few child pornographers who are hiding online. So why place everyone under “surveillance” where all internet users would become suspects of a crime that most of them would not even think about? Its final effect would be detrimental to freedom of speech and threatening to the online privacy of every American.

One “desperate” woman from New Jersey committed another not-so-unusual case of identity theft just to get even with her ex-boyfriend. Her “ingenuity”, a case of impersonation, has nearly succeeded in ruining another person’s image online. She was able to create a fake Facebook page using her ex-boyfriend’s name, photo and some personal information. After creating the page, she then posted inflammatory comments. While a judge ruled that she can be accused of identity theft, legislators have to think further about the case’s wider implications for cyber speech.

The woman took the identity of her ex-boyfriend, who works as a police narcotics officer. The posts that were mostly self-destructive appeared to be made by him. There was one comment that talked about his being “high all the time”. Others mentioned his disreputable activities like frequenting prostitutes and escort services, and that he had herpes.

Impersonation, however it is done, is aimed at obtaining a benefit for one’s own self or to injure or defraud another. Way back in 2006, the issues of online impersonation and cyber bullying came out and quickly spread. It all started with the suicide of a 13-year-old girl who became a target online by a fictitious 13-year old boy. The case concluded with the “boy” being identified actually as the mother of another teenage girl.

The Philippines needs to move quickly on the approval of the cyber crime laws that would effectively deter organized crime syndicates. It was disclosed by a top Philippine National Police (PNP) official that the country appears to be a favorite sanctuary for this breed of criminal. These groups have been involved in cyber pornography, illegal online gambling, cyber sex dens, credit card fraud, and identity theft. The official said that criminals are taking advantage of the “weak laws and poor technical know-how of law enforcers”.

A report said that cyber crime mafias, who are mostly foreigners, are gradually making the Philippines their base of operations. According to the top official, the PNP at present has no organizational and technical capability to fight cyber crimes. These syndicates use sophisticated technology, while law enforcers fall behind in terms of training and equipment. In fact, he said he has asked for support for immediate organizational and technical capability in order to build-up the concerned unit.

The arrest of a foreign national hacker in the country exposed the wide network of cyber crime. There are mafias working behind the operations of illegal online gambling and credit card fraud activities in the country. The operations of these groups seem unhampered as evidenced by the fast growth of their connections.

We know that young children need to be protected online, but who should take responsibility over their safety? Parents and government have always been trying to find answers to these questions. In the middle of controversies about online safety for children, the fact remains that there is a need to safeguard them. Children enjoy too much freedom in today’s internet technology. They can gain online access from anywhere – at home, on the street, or in the schools. This exposes children to possible harm because of their fascination in interacting with the technology.

Participants in a free discussion, mostly between concerned groups, shared various observations. One research result showed that 60% of 12- to 15-year-old children use the internet on their own. This leads them to the internet’s prime danger – exposure to pornography. Their inquisitiveness could start with access to sites that show offensive images. They would then start to explore for more images, until they become addicted to pornographic sites.

This age group of children is the most susceptible to risks and they need to be protected. At the same time, these children need to use the internet to make use of the huge abundance of knowledge that it offers. To solve this problem, children should follow some regulations in their interaction with the online world. It appears that parents have the best qualifications as delegates of regulation over their own children. Complicated online safety technology for children can never replace the parents’ authority.

Social networking sites are always looking for ways to offer new features and services. There is a competition in giving better online experiences to their users. From time to time, controversies arise about privacy issues, which have always been resolved. Facebook, Twitter and Google+1 are very popular sites and were created to cater to all groups of users. Almost anybody, regardless of age, can make friends with anyone else and from anywhere in the world.

MyYearbook is a relatively new social networking site that is now gaining wide popularity among teens. This site was created for teens ages 13 and up who want to meet new friends online. Its creators were two high school students, brother and sister David and Catherine Cook, and started in 2005. The two asked the help of their older brother, Geoff to help them with their project. This site was finally launched at Montgomery High School, which was the school they attended.

A majority of the world’s population today is connected to the internet for many different purposes. There are those who find that social networking can be an effective tool for individuals, organizations, schools, institutions, businesses, governments, etc. Along with this are the billions of devices that are interconnected via an array of wired and wireless networks. These devices come in a wide range of sizes, including those that are small, hand held gadgets to bigger devices that are powerful enough to get connected to the whole world. It is much easier now to communicate with anybody, anywhere in the cyber world.

Behind the scenes of the beneficial effects of internet technology are those unscrupulous criminals who use that same technology to carry out their own agenda. There is a very high risk of cyber attacks, coming in different forms. There is espionage, malware, denial-of-service, cyber war, and terrorism that lurk behind the interconnected systems. This is one concern that needs to be addressed not only by individual networks, but by the cooperative effort of all.

Network protection is becoming more and more important, and researchers in Germany have proposed a new approach to it. They believe that the risk of cyber attack could be reduced by rewarding those organizations that support their own network security. They have observed that those organizations who have implemented this strategy have greatly reduced the spread of malware and other problems. Today, communications that are internet and computer-based are, for the most part, done anonymously. This results in systems becoming ever more vulnerable to cyber attacks and harassment.

With all the advantages the Internet has brought comes a new kind of crime. Internet crime is at an all time high. Thieves have learned that this is an easier way of robbing their victims than ever before. All they have to do is gain access to a person’s connection to the Internet and it is possible to take their identity or their money. This is being committed even as you are reading this article. Accessing someone’s bank account, credit cards and other personal information through the World Wide Web is the way a thief can get by with his crime with the least likelihood of getting caught. Gone are the days when going on the Internet was not threatened by the possibility of malware and spy ware. When a thief gains access to your Internet connection, all the information you are sending on that connection is out in the open for the taking. Bank account numbers, credit card numbers – all manner of personal information – is no longer safe. How do you take steps to keep this from happening? One of the best ways is to have an anonymous proxy server. This is one solution to keep thieves from gaining knowledge about your connection to the Internet and in turn keeping your information safe.

What is an anonymous proxy, you may be asking? First of all, there are two types of anonymous proxies. The one that most people use is the web-based. This is because it is simple to find. All that is required is a search on the Google site for “anonymous proxy” and a vast amount of results will be shown. Choose one of the results and go to the site. An empty URL box will be shown and you need only type the web address of the place you want to visit. The anonymous proxy will then take you to this address without showing your IP address. When you leave the website there will not be a record of your having been there. The anonymous proxy acts as a combination protection and retrieval tool. It gets the website for you and keeps anyone from accessing your IP address. Your IP address can tell a thief where you are located. How many people do you want to know your name?