In a short period of time, The Internet has become persistent in our daily lives. Today, people can communicate by text, voice, pictures and data of all kinds from anywhere in the world, instantly. They can create content, interact digitally, shop worldwide with ease, exchange knowledge and ideas, and work together internationally. The Internet, is a network of networks, is already capable of communicating and storing unbelievable volumes of data online, including data that can be associated with each of us individually and can be used for good or for unfriendly.
In advanced economies, the Internet has already delivered extensive social and economic benefits and is now a critical vehicle for innovation. For the increasing world, the Internet can represent a powerful medium for social progress and economic growth, lifting masses of people out of poverty. For those stressed against r
...epressive rules, it represents a gap into the widespread world, a voice and a means to mobilize resistance and support.
For those wishing to spread violence and hateful ideas, it represents an incomparable opportunity to try to radicalize new audiences. For those seeking criminal gains, it represents a way of conducting traditional crimes on a larger scale and conducting new forms of Internet-enabled crime.
It is important to recognize that the communications and data of all these performers are mixed together in the packet-switched networks and data clouds of the Internet. They all use the same fixed and, progressively, mobile devices operating with the same Internet protocols. Authorities that track down terrorists, countries that conduct spying, cyber criminals and crooks of all kinds, the Internet provides a reservoir of information about their targets. But at the same time,
the ability to access the mixed data raises concerns over personal privacy and data protection.
All advanced economies now have multiple Internet needs. As the global necessity on the Internet growths, the vulnerability to disruption increases. Even though Internet access is far from universal, the number of Internet users is expected to reach billions, with each user capable of interacting with any other.
The largest portion of this further growth will be in the developing economies. The possibilities to collect, retain and use data for commercial profit, for harm and criminal gain, and for intelligence and security purposes, will increase. All investors’ measurements to protect the ultimate human rights and to respond effectively will need to keep pace.
This shift in the availability of personal, commercial and public sector information, and the potential for access to infrastructure and control systems, represents a new source of vulnerability for society, overblown by the increasing use of mobile devices and wireless networks that offer additional behaviors for networks to be entered.
These dangers will be highlighted by the arrival of the Internet of Things that is already starting to connect the key objects and instruments of daily life like our cars, homes, appliances, clothing and much more. In the developed world of the Internet of Things, everything we do, see, use or touch will leave electronic tracks, enlarging further both the potential commercial and social value of such data.
It also will enlarge the chances provided for police and intelligence agencies to study more about their suspects. Important questions still must be spoken concerning the vulnerability of such connected systems and the privacy implications of allowing state and private sectors to have access
and cut the big data that they will create. Likewise, there will be a need to clarify that whatever access there is must have a legal base. In the digital age,
Any information that can be used to uniquely identify, contact or locate an individual, or can be used with other sources to uniquely identify a person.
It consists of a broad range of information that can identify individuals, including dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, health and insurance records, and much more. the most common way people protected their personally identifiable information (PII) was to pay for an unlisted telephone number. Today, there are many types of PII and it’s not just businesses that use and must protect PII.
Schools, universities, healthcare facilities, retailers, government offices and many other organizations also acquire, process and store highly sensitive records. While most people are careful about disclosing their personal information, this issue is particularly sensitive for organizations that have information on minors, such as schools, councils and medical services. It becomes mandatory on the holder of that PII to be vigilant about its use and access.
The main federal law leading digital privacy is the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986. “The ECPA, as revised, protects wire, oral, and electronic communications while those communications are being made, are in transit, and when they are stored on computers.” The Act applies to email, telephone conversations, and data stored electronically the [Act] offers varying degrees of legal protection depending on the perceived importance of the privacy interest involved.
“Some information can be obtained from providers with a subpoena; other information requires a special court order;
and still other information requires a search warrant.” The ECPA conditions that the federal government can access an individual’s personal digital information without probable cause. Digital records kept on a person’s private home computer or cell phone are covered under privacy protection, but the same does not apply to cloud storage.
A second major issue in digital privacy is concerned that of social media sites. Many of these groups, like Facebook, encourage participants to enter in profuse amounts of personal information in their profiles. For instance, Facebook users leave their personal information exposed to the entire Internet public, risking personal information and safety.
With more people and devices connected to the internet, the term digital privacy has become ever more important, especially after recent data breaches have compromised countless accounts, causing many to worry about the risk of identity theft. In some cases, this data is voluntarily provided by the user, and other times it is taken without consent or knowledge. Either way, every time we visit a website, whether we are shopping or posting on social media, we are creating a digital trail.
One component of this trail is a cookie, which is one way that a website can identify you as a returning visitor. Therefore, certain sites can feel tailored to your interests because they are based on your previous activity. While in some ways this can be a convenience, it can make people uncomfortable. For the most part, websites are collecting harmless details, but pieced together these bits of information can create a full picture of the user.
Therefore, the issue of digital privacy has become so widespread, leading to the introduction of several bills ready
to ensure the privacy and security of consumers online users take as much control of their online presence as possible by being thoughtful before posting and adjusting privacy settings to a level that you’re comfortable with. By being more selective about what we share by changing privacy settings on our browsers some browsers allow us to turn on Do Not Track or to erase cookies.
In a data-driven age, digital privacy is more important than ever. Although it is challenging to predict exactly how collected data will be used, it’s important to think proactively about how we must always make it a habit to secure personal data. Since data privacy is such a predominant problem, many government organizations and corporations spend millions of dollars each year to help protect their data which could include an individual’s PII from exposure. The average consumer perhaps doesn’t have that kind of money to spend. Nevertheless, there are sensible steps to help protect our data.
One final recommendation to help is keep our data private. Regularly evaluate the privacy settings on our social media accounts. If we don’t, we may be sharing a lot more than just our name with people we never met, and a savvy criminal could use that information to steal our identity and a lot more.
Be smart and be vigilant as identity thieves prey upon the unworried and exist in the spaces that we don’t check very often. Don’t let them win by letting our guard down, and lastly, don’t assume that identity theft is purely a digital thing or something that happens only on the Internet. It can occur, and the best protection is use caution.
Attention
the Internet is not as secure as it needs to be. We all see steady headlines of attacks, viruses, hacking, phishing and other breaches of the security of our data and our communications. Internet security is difficult, it’s a long chain where each link needs to be tested and re-tested, and one weakness puts users at risk. The only workable way to improve cybersecurity and our digital privacy is to treat it as a shared responsibility, where users, businesses, and government must work together.
