Web 2.0 , Information Security and Privacy

Most of us use internet to gather information about something, or to interact others for some commercial, educations, social, political or any other beneficial activities for us and others. This internet community was supposed to arise in a way that everybody can make advantage from and for everbody. This culture was enforced by the tools by which Web 2.0 was featured with year by year, such as Wikies, Blogs, Social Networking...etc.

The most important problem for Web 2.0 is that everybody wants to announce hiself/herself to web community, selling and marketing ideas for others to get some advantages, wheather they are financial or reputative. This led to publish information for others for free, and gave others the opportunity to abuse these information for illegal puposes, which will be discussed below in brief.

Some survays claim that more than 250 millions of internet users have account in one or more social networking websites. In fact, this feature allowed for millions of people to get in touch again after years of being away from each other. Most of old friends met without barriers, and people are sharing their events, photos, letters in individual form or groups form. People who are interested in some events, ideas and celebrates are now able to find the groups by which they feel they can be active and interactive to be part of them.

This is the positive and beautifull face.

On the contrary, people are publishing their private information in the cyberspace without guaranteeing their privacy are protected. Even you applied your security measures as putting permissions for those who can access or cannot access your profile, your profile is NOT withing your pocket, and your information could be hacked by some way or another. This fact is clear for people who are aware of security, but not for others. Some studies revealed that search tools that are available within social networking websites can be used for investigative activities. This means that your information and "links" to your friends can be visulized, so your relations and social life can be viewed easily. Some police and intellegence investigators make use of these information in an attempt to capture some crimianls or spies. But attackers are very glad to find repositories provide such valuable information for free!

As a result, some attackers use these information for fraudelent activities, using social engineering methods to collect information from victims, and use identity theft tools to overcome those victims to gain their purposes. Some studies pointed out that sexual harrasments and financial fraud crimes was done againest children and students form both genders. Some was abused for distributing terrorist activities and ideas, and others for political and economical purposes.

Freedom is great, and using our rights to be free to talk, read and write is very great thing. But using technology to watch and track people and individulas what they are talking about is some kind of intelligence.

When publishing a blog, people are sharing ideas about something. Some blogs are hot, others are weak. Some bloges appear to be Free Private Websites, whereas others seem to be forums. However, people find it interesting to publish their opinions and ideas freely, which can be studied easily by social, political and commercial institutes to find public opinion about some event, issue or product. Do you thing it is legal? Is it fair to get these information for free without greetings to those "human machines" that are constructing such blogs?

On the other hand, what is the degree ot trust that such information belog to the human who claims to be the owner of this blog? Can you prove that "I (Aladdin Dandis)" is writing these words or I am doing some "Copy-Pasts" activity from copyrighted material?

I think these issues should be addressed and considered before writing such blogs!

Here is another problem. A lot of writers urgue about wikies to be source of information. What is criteria that should be followed to make sure that information posted in such wikies are trusted and real? Who is the writer? Is he a specislist or just a human wants to show people that he/she is writing scientifica material?

Wikies are great source of information when restricting and qualifying the writers of them. Some rigid conditions should be followed before and after posting the wiki, to make sure that source and reviewer are eligible to enhance human knowledge in a right way. Without that, any human can post any information, and any reviewer can rate it by any good or excellent mark!

In the end, it is essential to protect our informatino and identity from being abused, since Web 2.0 opens people to a generation of open minds, and if we are not aware how to post and interacte the right people and information, then we are wasting ourselves for cloudious and dark future.