Threats of the Internet

The advent of the internet has brought many opportunities and challenges over the last twenty years or so. The internet has allowed the world to become continuously connected, enabling information to seamlessly flow from point A to point B. Acting like an artificial organism, the internet has evolved and developed into a data flow system, where everybody in the civilized world uses it. Businesses and individuals rely on the internet to process financial transactions, research, store their data, communicate, etc. Due to the overwhelming amount of data flowing freely in the internet, people find it attractive to steal or manipulate numbers for their own benefit. Nevertheless, with the evolution of the internet, it has become harder and harder for individuals and businesses alike to protect against theft and/or manipulation.

Technology has not only made it easier for information to flow, as well as the internet to grow, but it has also enabled hackers and software designers to create little computer bugs that invade your computer. These little bugs, ‘botnets’, serve as a burrowing type of insect that infiltrates your computer and then executes certain actions which could range from crashing a system to stealing money from it. This is fascinating for no longer is hacking and identity theft a personal issue; instead it is mass produced from the same technology it is infiltrating. Hackers and ‘botnets’ pose a very real threat to businesses’ and individuals’ security. Therefore, it is imperative that every company allow full disclosure and discretion when dealing with the risks associated with being on the internet. Businesses should integrate standard protocols to prevent against internal sabotage or financial theft. They should stress the importance of not connecting to unfamiliar sites or even opening emails from unknown senders. The same could also be said for individuals, whose varying degree of interests poses different security risks.

Individuals can be reckless at times with their internet usage by sharing all sorts of information over the web. The realization of Web 2.0 has allowed the world to be connected at all times with everyone through social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and even MySpace. Web 2.0 is very real and rumor is that Web 3.0 is on the horizon. Web 2.0 has allowed for information to be immediately available. An illustration of this could be seen when the first report to tell us that a plane landed in the Hudson River due to bird attacks came from a bystander with a camera phone and a Twitter account. Twitter has become so large and integrated, those celebrities, politicians, physicists, and even common folk are connected to it. However, Facebook is the giant of this Web 2.0 revolution having the most people connected to a single website in the world. To put this in perspective, if Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest country in the world behind China and India (400 million).

It is clear that more and more people are connected to the internet through social networking sites. It is clear that businesses are becoming globalized and must share information over the internet to properly operate outside of its headquarters. It is also, unfortunately clear that people use the internet to steal money through hacking or simply performing corporate espionage born out of bitter feelings or financial gain. These same hackers have also developed the tools to invade the privacy of your home and shovel out information, ranging from bank statements or social security numbers in a particular direction. The threats are real and present. Both businesses and individuals would be wise to diversify their data infrastructure, purchase top of the line computer protection software, and use excellent discretion.

Image Used in Post

Organic growth image is courtesy of Flickr user jurvetson published under the CC license.