The Entire Issue of Privacy Protection on the Computer - Literature review Example

As computers and technology altogether become better understood and more economical each day, new applications come about every day as well; many of these which involve both the storing of information and often times simultaneous use by several individuals. Words such as ‘privacy’, ‘security’, and ‘protection’ are frequently used in connection with information-storing systems. Due to the ever-increasing need of privacy protection, security techniques in this area are consistently changing and upgrading, adapting to the form to which they become a necessity as technology continues to expand. Even such things as warfare, terrorism and crime can be committed with the use of information systems and tools; these of which post an ominous threat to the privacy of users. The United States, with its highly networked infrastructure, is perhaps both the most powerful and the most vulnerable in this situation. The Pentagon is expected to suffer about two million information attacks this year and alone, and business losses to cyber crime, though difficult to measure precisely, total in the billions of dollars each year. The aim of this paper is to discuss all of this, as well as any and all key elements in relation to this issue. This is what will be dissertated in the following. There are various security techniques which are sometimes applied to computer systems, of which includes the following: Labeling files with lists of appropriately authorized users Verifying the identity of a prospective user by demanding a password Shielding the computer to prevent interception and subsequent interpretation of electromagnetic radiation Enciphering information sent over telephone lines Locking the room containing the computer Controlling who is allowed to make changes to the computer system (both its hardware and software) Using redundant circuits or programmed cross-checks that maintain security in the face of hardware or software failures Certifying that the hardware and software are in fact actually implemented as intended There are various points of view on the issue of privacy protection in the area of computers, and these views can be incredibly differing in regards to the views of the legal or illegal nature of this issue. The government in general, the FBI, businesses, the American Civil Liberties Union, the United States Supreme Court, computer software manufacturers; each with their own separate opinion and ideals on the issue, and all of these which must be taken fully and thoroughly into consideration. A new era of search is being ushered in, and with this comes new and innovative issues about search privacy. Most people are surprisingly shocked to discover that personal information about themselves is out on the web and made easily accessible through various different forums. Search engines such as Google have also been incorporated into this issue, although the fact “that the information was online has not been the search engines’ fault, of course.” (Sullivan, 2004). All the search engines have done, after all, is make it easier to find things that one is looking for. However, their role as conduits has meant that they have often times had to take the blame for someone else’s poor security. Internet privacy consists of privacy over the media of the Internet; it consists of the ability to control what information one reveals about oneself over the Internet, and as well, to control who can then access that information. “Internet privacy forms a subset of computer privacy.” (Wikipedia, 2006). One thing which must be understood is that of the differing degrees of necessary privacy control. For example, those with only a casual interest in Internet privacy need not achieve total anonymity, while those who desire and/or require much stronger privacy often times must use Internet anonymity to ensure privacy – which is use of the Internet without giving any third parties the ability to link the Internet activities to personally-identifiable information of the Internet user. There are numerous significant risks involved through the Internet, although surprisingly, most are basically unknown and therefore unperceived by the average user. Some of these are as follows: Cookies – these have become perhaps the most widely-recognized privacy risk, and have therefore received a great deal of attention. While the original developers of cookies had an intention only for the website that originally sent them would be able to retrieve them, however, in actual practice programmers can easily circumvent this intended restriction. Many users even choose to disable cookies in their we browsers, which eliminates the potential privacy risks, but also may severely limit or prevent the functionality of many websites Browsing profiles – the process of browsing profiles assembles and analyzes several events, each attributable to a single originating entity, in an attempt to gain information (especially particular patterns of activity) relating to the originating entity. In regards to this, governments and organizations often times set up ‘honeypot’ websites with the purpose of attracting and tracking unwary people. This constitutes a potential danger for the average individual. IP addresses – every device on the Internet has an IP address, which is an identifying numeric code that is used to route data. Most people who are seeking Internet anonymity usually have a high interest in hiding their IP address from third parties, and one can only do this through connecting through one or more anonymous proxies. ISPs – An ISP is an Internet Service Provider, of which consumers obtain Internet access through. If one is given this, one has the capability of observing anything and everything about the consumer’s Internet activities; however, ISPs presumably do not do this due to legal, ethical, business, and technical considerations. Data logging – many programs and operating systems are set up to perform data logging of usage, which may include things from recording time when the computer is in use to which web sites are visited. Some other potential Internet privacy risks include: spyware, web bug, social engineering, phishing, and malicious proxy server – to name a few. From this review, we can see that the issue of privacy protection is of incredibly significant importance in today’s highly technological world. The average person owns or at least has use of a computer, and therefore issues such as this must be fully and thoroughly understood then by the average person, which of course – although often times rather surprisingly – are not. In order to prevent such things as identity theft and other forms of cybercrime, one absolutely must be aware and updated on the entire issue of privacy protection on the computer. Only when this happens will society as a whole be made at least remotely protected in regards to their privacy. Works Cited Aldrich, Richard W. (2000). “Cyberterrorism and Computer Crimes: Issues Surrounding the Establishment of an International Legal Regime.” 26 May 2006 http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:xaREdgK85zAJ:www.usafa.af.mil/df/inss/OCP/ocp32.pdf+issues+surrounding+privacy+protection+on+computers&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=20 Sullivan, Danny. (2004). “A Closer Look at Privacy & Desktop Search.” Search Engine Watch. 26 May 2006 < http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/3421621> Wikipedia. (2006). “Internet Privacy.” Wikipedia. 26 May 2006 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_privacy> Read More