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Product Guide 101
Internet Security and Privacy
About Privacy and Security on the Web
Before the advent of the Web, Internet security usually posed a problem only
for system administrators trying to keep meddlesome hackers away from their
systems. When the Web arrived, the popularity of the Internet skyrocketed.
Almost overnight, people began doing all sorts of potentially sensitive
activities over the Internet, including: banking and stock transactions; sending
personal data to Web sites; performing Web searches; and ordering books and
clothes. While the Web is responsible for making the Internet more accessible,
it also opens new possibilities for data theft, invasions of privacy, and fraud.
Why does Internet privacy matter to me?
Step back and consider the range of sensitive transactions we make every day.
As an example, consider a simple ATM transaction. We assume that following
conditions prevail whenever we use our ATM cards:
n Privacy: Only you and the intended recipient can access the transaction
information. The PIN you use to access your bank account provides a
fairly high level of privacy—as long as you don’t share your PIN with
others, and don’t leave your card lying around, your checking account
balance is safe from prying eyes.
n Integrity: Nothing can intervene and change the information during the
transaction. When we take twenty dollars out of our checking account,
we have a reasonable expectation that the ATM will not add an extra
zero.
n Trust: You can trust that the recipient is who they claim to be; the
recipient can trust that you are who you claim to be.
Organizations like banks and insurance companies are legally obliged to abide
by federal statutes that govern the sanctity of your transaction information.
The problem with Internet is that it has not yet evolved into well-established
institutional mechanisms that guarantee the sanctity of your information.
Privacy on the Web
Who is snooping?
Hackers are a breed of human being that thrive on gaining illegal access to
computers in order to access, steal, and sometimes corrupt data. Many hackers
are quite benign—breaking into a secure system is a challenge and a thrill. But
some computer hackers think that if they don’t care for someone or some
organization, it is OK to break in to their computers and wreak havoc. Other
hackers think that the online theft of money and resources is legitimate, as
long as it goes to support more hacking.