Save Our Internet

Save our

Internet

Graham stokes

English 102

12/9/05

In the early 1970's a man by the name of Vinton Cerf invented a concept of linking computers together and creating a network of information and data. It would be one of the most influential and important breakthroughs of modern times. The Internet, or ARPA as it was known in the early stages (http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story070.htm) was a simple and difficult to use prototype. It relied heavily on computer code and required detailed knowledge of how the system worked for a person to be able to operate it efficiently. This basic system was built and paid for by Americas department of defense, and ironically the early Internet had just about no built in security. Because it was developed by a very select group of people, there was no immediate need for security measures. This miscalculation in the delicate early stages of its infancy would prove to be the Internets Achilles heal, after its explosion into the worlds leading communication and marketing tool of today's fast paced world.

This early technology was greatly overshadowed by a similarly used and important medium, the Multi-band radio. This was the end all be all of its time because of its importance in saving the lives of soldiers on the ground and in the air in World War II. Advancements in radio wave technology had to be developed to ensure the safety of the missions that were broadcast over these waves. Because of the ever-increasing issues of possible enemy spying and decoding of secret information, the United States military developed the Midas (Military Digital Analysis System),

(http://www.crc.ca/en/html/crc/home/mediadesk/success_stories/success_stories_2002/spectrum_explorer) in a joint effort with Canada to secure the soldiers communications. It was a sophisticated radio-frequency surveillance system that used a combination of commercial off-the-shelf receivers, and crude computer technology. It would take the radio frequencies and decode them as they were fed through a computer program on the ground. Only with this program (changed frequently to avoid complications if captured) could the soldiers get a clear and definite signal. These messages were also further coded once unscrambled by the computers. The extent to which the government researched and implemented security into technology was unmatched in its time, and is still being perfected today. Because the issue was life and death during the war there was a very strong push for this technology. This same basic problem lies in the early foundations of our Internet today. A flaw that should have been assessed and fixed during its creation in the 70's has become almost unmanageable in today's fast paced digital world. Hackers are too quick to be caught, and criminals are no longer the dregs of society. They can steal everything about you and ruin your life from the safety and comfort of their own home personal computers. It is an issue that is so far beyond the current capabilities of the government. It is time for someone to be liable for this feeding frenzy on our personal information and I believe that corporations should be the starting point.

Today, The FBI is solely in charge of the protection and seeking out Internet criminals. In 2001 THE FBI AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE announced A NATIONWIDE investigation INTO INTERNET FRAUD, CODE NAMED "OPERATION CYBER LOSS". This team of internet commandos was INITIATED BY THE FBI'S INTERNET FRAUD COMPLAINT CENTER, or the IFCC (WWW.IFCCFBI.GOV). They had successfully exposed and convicted over 56,000 victims in the United States (the leading target for this form of fraud in the world), and have recovered over $117 million by the year 2002. The crimes consist of a variety of charges due to the vast amount of personal and sensitive information available to even the most novice of hacker. The crimes are Mostly dealing with: WIRE FRAUD, MAIL FRAUD, CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING, BANK FRAUD, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. Even With teams all over the country, they cannot begin to chip away at the growing number of viruses and new ways of obtaining users information.

The main crisis that makes this Internet fraud different from every other form that the FBI has faced is its incredible reach. Before the internet, A NATION'S BORDER ACTED AS A BARRIER TO THE creation OF MANY Criminals ENTERPRISES, ORGANIZATIONS AND CONSPIRACIES.OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, THE ADVENT OF THE INTERNET AS A BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATION TOOL HAS changed everything. CYBER CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS POSE SIGNIFICANT THREATS TO GLOBAL trade AND SOCIETY. Further attempting to extend their reach to blanket this vast medium with security, the aforementioned IFCC has been taking on partner organizations to deal with different and more refined types of fraud. The national white color crime center (nw3c) deals with the prevention and prosecution of economic crimes. According to www.computerwolrd.com, INTERNET USERS IN THE U.S. REACHED OVER 100 MILLION IN 1999, only 20 years after it was invented. The Internet has spread exponentially since then and now (2005) is used by over 15% of the world's total population with and estimated online population now exceeding 900 million users. (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm)

The growth rate is surpassing the search grid of the FBI's collaboration. It is simply growing to fast to be contained at the legalized level. Now, with the institution of online shopping and music downloads, the spread of the problem has also evolved into an entirely different demographic. This shift has shown to be a main reason for the rise in theft online. Internet companies deny that their business is responsible for the increase in targeting online users stating that:

"This is a de facto immunity that stems from the nature of the Internet, as a distributed network of information providers that meet common technical standards, we do not have formal contracts with each other that make enforceable promises." (http://www.apnic.net/mailing-lists/apple/archive/1999/03/msg00001.html)

This quote addresses the liability of apple computers during the y2k bug fever of 1999. It sums up the attitude of Internet companies around the world; That There is no reason for them to be afraid of legal ramifications because they provide a contract free service. They assume no responsibility for the information required to be given by the customer to complete the service. This