Security on the Internet is more than people think. The responsibility for it does not lie just with the end users, nor just with the software companies, nor just with the governments of the world. The responsibility lies with us all. If we do not check ourselves, and make sure that we are doing only that which is right, then how can we expect the companies or the governments to protect us? If the software companies do not make sure that there are no “bugs” or “backdoors” in the programs they write, then how can the end users or the governments prevent those “bugs” and “backdoors” from being exploited? If the governments do not make laws regarding what can and cannot be done on the Internet, then how can the end users or the software companies know what guidelines to follow in their interactions on the Internet? Over the past decade, the Internet has grown from a small unknown entity into a wide spread global media with millions of people accessing it world wide and more joining every day. Some people are afraid of the Internet, considering it to be Big Brother from George Orwell’s 1984, realized at last. Others realize that the Internet is a powerful tool, if it is used properly, and strive to get the most out of it. For each person, security entails something different. Some of us will be afraid of the hackers, some of us will realize that the hackers would have no reason to do anything involving us. Some of us will be afraid of computer viruses, some of us will not worry about it since they always have protection against viruses in place. Some of us will always be afraid of the Internet, no matter what security measures are put in place, some of us will never worry about security and will use the Internet for whatever we feel is proper. Overall, the Internet is a global force with which nothing compares and nothing can be compared. Security on the Internet is, therefore, a powerful and important feature that must be attended to and nourished as the cyber-world and real world merge and interact with more frequency.
Bibliography
1. NCSA Anti-Virus Information,
http://www.ncsa.com/virus/alerthoax.html, updated May 1997.
2. Another Bug in Explorer,
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,10487,00.html, May 8, 1997.
3. Netscape Checks for Bug, June 12, 1997 http://www.abcnews.com/sections/business/sectors/HighTech/ap_netscape612/index.html
4. Fox, Robert, Not So Social Security,
Communications of the ACM, June 1997- Volume 40, Number 6.
5. Peter G. Neumann and Lauren Weinsteinh, Inside Risks Spam, Spam, Spam!, Communications of the ACM, June 1997- Volume 40, Number 6.
6. Kanaley, Reid, Will anything ever rule the Net?, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday July 13, 1997, page E3.
7. Survey done via E-mail, results attached.
Annotated Bibliography
1. NCSA Anti-Virus Information, http://www.ncsa.com/virus/alerthoax.html, updated May 1997. This page contains information from the National Computer Security Association about current viruses, as well as hoaxes, viruses that people are saying exist, but in reality are not there. Messages about these hoaxes circulate through e-mail, wasting people’s time, and making the uninformed frantic when they can’t find a protection for the hoax. I will use this site to get information on these hoaxes. Using that information, I will show how the concerns of the people about viruses, and about their computer’s security are blown out of proportion.
2. Another Bug in Explorer, http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,10487,00.html, May 8,1997.
This site gives complete information on one of the most recent bugs in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web Browser. This site will be useful in showing an example of a real security problem, and what companies are doing to prevent them.
3. Netscape Checks for Bug, June 12,1997 http://www.abcnews.com/sections/business/sectors/HighTech/ap_netscape612/index.html
An article from the Associated Press. This article discusses how Netscape Communications Corp. is doing to prevent and fix bugs that can come about. It deals specifically with one bug that has been claimed to exist.
4. Robert Fox, Not So Social Security, Communications of the ACM, June 1997- Volume 40, Number 6.
This article talks about the recent World Wide Web Site that the Social Security Administration shut down because of security issues.
5. Peter G. Neumann and Lauren Weinsteinh, Inside Risks Spam, Spam, Spam!, Communications of the ACM, June 1997- Volume 40, Number 6.
This article talks about the act of “Spamming” and the threats that it imposes upon computer systems.
Etan Weintraub
For my Senior Seminar paper, I wish to research the current global issues surrounding information security on the Internet. While the Internet has evolved from a military communications network to a global data-sharing community, its growth has contributed to this very problem of data insecurity. As it currently stands, much of the information on the Internet is completely vulnerable to unauthorized retrieval and/or manipulation, as well as to piracy. In addition, people can attack others via E-mail by sending harassing messages and/or “Spamming” (the act of sending multiple unsolicited messages that completely fill the victim’s mailbox). People cannot protect themselves from these cyber-felons, especially when they can retrieve personal and financial information without the owner’s knowledge. There is also almost regular notice in the media that someone can access information from another person’s computer system through the use of a backdoor or a bug in a program. I plan to learn what the truth is behind the existence, complexity, and scope of some of these back doors and bugs. I also plan to examine what people are developing to counter these threats and to protect themselves. In addition, I hope to discover what companies are doing to help their customers and to protect themselves. An added question to be answered as well is what the governments are doing to enact laws that will globally govern the Internet.
As a computer science major, someone who deals with computers on a daily if not hourly basis, and a “Net-izen,” an Internet citizen, someone who spends time on the Internet in an active nature, the global issues surrounding security on the Internet affect me in more ways than one. The Internet is the community of the future, but if security measures are not put in place and enforced, then it will be more of a slum, and less of a community.