The number of cyber crimes increases as the use of mobile devices becomes more popular. The internet can now be accessed through smartphones and other digital devices by almost everyone. Given this worsening scenario, law enforcement agencies are looking for innovative ways to combat these criminals. Cyber crime cannot be counteracted by the usual strategies. It requires a good deal of ingenuity, with matching technology, in order to stand up effectively against these crooks.

In California, catching and prosecuting internet crooks is now being handled by the new, special eCrime Unit. This team is comprised of 20 attorneys and investigators, and was created by the State Attorney General. Innovative techniques will be used in order to target criminal activities like email scams, piracy, child pornography, online fraud, and many others. Up to this date, many people have been victimized, both online and offline. Read Full Article

In the IT world, it is now time to say goodbye to 2011 and to welcome the new year of 2012. There were many happenings within the past year, and there are high hopes that the coming year will produce even better changes. Many technological changes have to be expected, and analysts foresee some pictures of these from their own point of view. Within the next year, major changes will be driven by these three: big data & analytics, security and cloud computing.

The role of social media in big data and analytics is expected to grow and expand. Due to new data sources, it is very possible that more organizations will use these tools in order to make transformations. The end result for doing all these would be the realization of more significant benefits coming out of social networking. There was a tremendous growth in the number of organizations using the social media command center in the year 2011. The same or even more is expected to happen in 2012. This is proof that the common use of marketing service agencies is gradually being replaced by the more advanced and more efficient social media. Read Full Article

New privacy concerns have been raised due to the continuous increase in data breaches at health care facilities. The results of studies conducted tried to show the main cause of these breaches. Some of the hospitals surveyed put the blame on insufficient funding for security. Others said that the sudden surge in data breaches was due to lost or stolen devices. The first cause could be attributed more to the government’s priorities in appropriating funds. But the second one implies that there is human error, or that health care professionals lack the knowledge on how to secure patient data.

Mobile technology has now entered into almost all private and public organizations. The use of smartphones or tablets has made it very easy for people to handle data. These gadgets are also being used by doctors and other health care professionals for electronic health records. The problem with these tools is with the lack of needed security. Left on their own, some doctors use these gadgets without sufficient knowledge on the use of encryption technology or even passwords.

According to the American Health Information Management Association, there is a need for education and consciousness. A spokesperson admitted that there are trainings conducted on the use of mobile technology as used in data management, however, these are less effective than education and awareness. Other interventions must be done if health professionals are to possess the right awareness about patient data security. Read Full Article

In the United States, there is a continuous increase in the number of hospitals that are adopting electronic medical records. However, according to a study from the Ponemon Institute, there is also a surge in patient data breaches because of insufficient funding. There is a recorded 32% increase in data breach incidents from 2010 to 2011. To ensure patient privacy, hospitals say that there should be enough funding from the agency concerned.

Translated into cost, the health care industry lost an estimated $6.5 billion in the span of 1 year alone. Almost one-half of all health organizations that were surveyed said that lost or stolen devices were the major cause of this loss. The survey covered 72 hospitals and health providers, but the organizations were not named. Read Full Article

Will a new computer malware victimize and disturb millions of computer users this Christmas? Sadly, yes, and this new malware attack, as always, comes in a cover up, this time as a license key. There are spam emails that appear to come from Adobe, and presented as a license key for Adobe InDesign. This is desktop publishing software from Adobe that is a useful tool for publishers.

The emails were convincingly written and bear the subject “InDesign CS4 License Key”. It is not easy for users to see that the emails contain malware. These emails subtly encourage users to discover what is new about InDesign and how its features have been enhanced. The emails were sent with an attachment that is said contains tips, tutorials, and eSeminars.

Observers have noted that there were several versions of the emails; each one is somewhat different from the others. The subject lines of the emails used different reference numbers. Some attachments bear the filename “License_key_ID[random number].zip”, others use “AdobeSystems-Software_Critical Update Dec_2011-[random].zip”.

Hackers know that users would protect their security, so they use subtle intimidation in their emails. They “promise” such things as advanced features to make sure that users open the attachment. Along with this, there is insinuation that work productivity would be enhanced only if users open the file.

Users with no adequate understanding about how malwares are spammed out are prone to open the attachment. Not being aware that it contains malicious software, they will install it and their Windows computers are infected with it. The malware is detected as the Troj/Bedo-MY Trojan horse by the Sophos antivirus software. It also reminded users that Adobe sends emails to people for a clear purpose other than updates. Users have to bear in mind that Adobe uses only its own website for any available legitimate product updates.

Lawmakers are in the process of updating the 1986 anti-hacking law mainly because it is no longer in time with the present-state online “culture”. If it still applied as is, the law would penalize even innocent web surfing. But those concerned with its revision are very careful because changing the penalties might let actual criminals off the hook. By updating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, it would be considering the civil liberties of users while seeing to it that cybercriminals are caught.

The specific part of the law that needs to be revised is the power of government to convict users who break a website’s terms of service agreements. A law school professor presented his concern about the present state of the law. According to him, it threatens the civil liberties of Americans who innocently falsify information on Facebook and online dating sites.

In his written testimony, the professor gave some typical examples of how millions of users give false information. He wrote that a user could be penalized for writing in his profile that he goes to the gym everyday when, in truth, he only goes there once a month. Or, he added, another user who supplies false information about his height, weight or age could be called a criminal. According to him, a study suggested that 8 out of 10 users provide false information in their profiles. This would mean that there are millions of Americans out there who are cybercriminals. Read Full Article

There are some phishing scams that you might encounter, so it would be to your advantage to have knowledge on how to handle them. If you are looking for a job online, be wary of those that convince you to send personal information. There are cyber criminals who are hiding behind legitimate job sites just to enhance their reputation. They even go to the extent of using familiar-looking logos and convincing language that could attract your attention. The truth is that the links that they use are leading you to bogus websites that only appear to be owned by legitimate companies.

There are also sites that, if not asking for personal information, are charging you fees for services that they claim to offer. There have been many victims of this kind of fraud – they paid for services that they were not able to receive at all. This type of online scam is so effective that there is a continuous increase in the number of related complaints. These criminals are difficult to catch because they “close down” their businesses after a while and simply disappear.

For job hunters like you, it would help if you remember these few tips that would keep you safe. Do not provide any personal information that is not related to work. For example, a legitimate prospective employer would not ask for your social security number, date of birth, home address, etc. In fact, it is advised that you should not give out any of this information over the phone, through email, or by fax.

Your resume is your most valuable “capital” as a job hunter. It contains so much sensitive information about yourself that you have to keep private. Do not just give away your resume without having a valid reason. If you want to post it online, choose a job site that has a clear privacy policy. Go for one that verifies recruiters before allowing them to gain access to your records.

If you need to verify a prospective employer or recruiter, look for the company’s contact number and call it. If it is convenient enough, you can visit the company in person during regular business hours. After doing so, you can agree to a background check if they request it.

The Congressional bill entitled “The Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011” was already presented to the committee concerned by legislators. According to privacy advocates, this would be the biggest threat to civil liberties, and that is why it has raised concerns. They say that many people would believe that this legislation is important and timely to address child pornography. This reaction is predictable because every rational person would always despise such a crime.

What could be the reason why privacy advocates seem to react so disapprovingly to the proposed law? Thinking deeply on the matter, such legislation would turn every person who uses the internet into a victim. The advocates contend that passage of the law would require all internet service providers, or ISPs, to track all of a user’s internet activities and save it for 18 months. Aside from this, ISPs are supposed to store this information together with the user’s name, home address, bank account and credit card numbers, and the assigned IP address. Does this sound threatening?

One of the arguments is that tracking all of the user’s internet activities is not the solution to the problem of internet child pornography. Why track the behavior of everybody just to look for the very few child pornographers who hide online? Among the millions of internet users, there are a handful of criminals, but why make everyone a suspect? Its final effect would be oppressive to the free speech rights and menacing to the online privacy of every American. Read Full Article

In order to improve internet privacy protection, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its latest proposals in the hope of raising consumer protection to a new level. Without oppressing innovation on the internet, consumers can be given more protection. The FTC’s proposals contain innovative functions such as “do not track” and several others.

Consumers have long been complaining that their online activities are tracked by the use of “cookies”. Websites send cookies to the consumer’s computer to make it easy for data miners to simply know their online choices. The information that is being gathered is used by companies to target specific products and services to online consumers. It is not easy for consumers to defend themselves because most of them do not know how to disable cookies. They really have to struggle to find the browser’s privacy settings so that they can opt out of cookies. Even to the experienced user, this is not easily done.

It cannot be denied that some consumers might gain from data mining, particularly those who shop online. Discounts and other offers may be available if they wish to purchase the same item again. While some consumers welcome these targeted advertisement benefits, others find them annoying and intimidating to their privacy. That is why authorities are constantly trying to find ways to guard consumers from these unwanted ads. Read Full Article

There is a recent security threat that has stirred concerns among smart phone users. A video was posted by Trevor Eckhart, a security researcher, which gave details of some installed hidden software. It was shown as being able to log numerous details about most of the user’s activities. Specifically, the software known as Carrier IQ, logs all text messages, Google searches and phone numbers typed in by the user. This gathered information is then reported to the mobile phone carrier. Aside from this, the software is capable of logging the URL of websites searched by the phone owner, even if he or she intends to use encrypted data using “https” URLs.

Many mobile devices today that have Android operating systems come with the software installed by default. Eckhart said that it runs in the background unnoticed or without the user’s knowledge. But even if the user becomes aware of it, the software cannot be stopped, added the researcher. He called the software a “rootkit”, which is software that is often used in malware.

Much more has been discovered about Carrier IQ when the researcher was able to get hold of the training materials posted on the software’s website. He was very quick to think that the company might take the files offline, so he copied the training materials. He was right in his belief because these files became unavailable, which was done not long after he posted his analysis. Read Full Article