For many people, going online really did feel like jumping onto the – information superhighway - and visiting the websites using chat rooms did feel like entering a new world and traveling around a new online world. In a very few days, the number of Internet users has sky-rocketed. Back to the 1990, less than 100,000 people were able to log on the the Internet. Today, around 500 million people are able to surf the Internet around the globe.
With each passing day, the Internet became integrated in human life with the physical world. As the range of Internet applications broadened and the users became more sophisticated, it became harder to see a user’s experience as it first seemed. Continue reading
By now, you must have heard that USDOJ has issued a subpoena to Twitter and is asking for various types of information about Julian Assange, Rop Gongrijp [sic], Bradley Manning and Birgitta Jonsdottir from their Twitter accounts. This subpoena was issued under the seal because of which Twitter could not tell about the subpoena to anyone. In this situation, Twitter could have just followed the subpoena and none of these people wouldn’t even have known about it.
Instead, what Twitter did is, it apparently made a motion to unseal the subpoena. Twitter had been standing to do this because the sealing of the subpoena infringed upon its own ability to interact with its subscribers or customers. Continue reading
An electronic signature is any electronic means which indicates that a person adopts the contents of an electronic message. It can be defined as an electronic symbol (e.g. graphic in JPEG file), sound (e.g. audio files) or process (e.g. a procedure that coveys assent) logically associated with or attached to a record, and executed by a person with the intent to sign the record. An electronic signature is very easy to implement. Consequently, e-signatures are very problematic when considered to maintaining security and integrity. There is nothing to prevent an individual from typing the name of another individual. Due to this, an electronic signature does not integrate additional measures of security that are considered as an insecure way of signing documentation. Continue reading
The Data Protection Act 1998 is an act of United Kingdom (UK) parliament, which defines the law on processing the data on identifiable living people. The purpose of Data Protection Act is to protect the rights of individual about whom the data is obtained, stored, supplied or processed rather than those organizations or people who use and control personal data. This act applies to both computerized as well as paper records. It applies to anything done to personal data such as use, collection, destruction, disclosure or merely holding data.
The Data Protection Act aims at promoting high standards in handling of personal information as well as to protect the individual’s right to privacy. Continue reading
Like every other area of our lives, internet is changing as well. Just few years ago, you were able to use the internet as you wanted, but this is not the case anymore. Since, the internet is drawing in more people daily, it is also drawing crime in. These crimes are called as cyber crimes.
Cyber crime is an unlawful act wherein the computer is used either as a tool or a target or both. There are different types of crimes on the internet that are done for different reasons. To prevent from these crimes and in response to absolutely complex and newly emerging issues related to cyberspace, the concept of Cyberlaw came into being. Continue reading
There is a long and nasty history of many people having their domain names stolen from under their nose. It is the worst thing for you that waking up one day finding your site has disappeared and someone else has owned it. And then the phone call in which you were told that it was nothing to do with the registrar and you had to do everything to sort it out yourself. The companies that you register your domain name with do not take any responsibility of it.
Although, all of that was supposed to be in the past, it is however still possible to steal your domain without your knowledge with minimum efforts. The registrars have a feature called a Domain Lock or a Registrar Lock that prevents the transfer of the domain to anyone unless that lock is removed. Continue reading
Hacking or creating virus started as a hobby. But today, it has becomes a full fledged organized crime. It is like a terrorism where an unauthorized group of people with vested interests creates a harms to the networks and computers of other people. They may enter a network and may steal data in an unauthorized way to sell it in the market and make money.
According to the many computer geeks, a virus that affect our computer system is generated by the companies who are there to market their anti-virus. This may be true for those unethical companies who want to make a fast buck and therefore find some unethical way to make money.
There are several small and medium sized business that have been victims of cyber crime at some point. As a businessman, it is absolutely important for you to minimize your chances of being victim of cyber crime. When online, the security measures are necessary to protect your computer, your information as well as your money.
Have you ever Google yourself and find something negative? It should worry you. Just a negative posting can cost you a job. That could be something you posted years ago, or posted by someone you know - or by even a perfect stranger.
With the popularity of social networking, many people are sharing their personal lives than ever before. No matter, you’re an avid internet user or not, your personal information is most likely online and could be paying someone else’s mortgage. Since, the social media has made our lives very transparent, the threats to your internet reputation grow by the day.
Your online profile can be the cause for the lack of call backs and can even stop you from the desired interview and gainful employment. A 2010 Microsoft report found that 79 percent of hiring managers and recruiters conduct online research about job applicants. Continue reading
You spend a great time, money and effort to create a website, don’t you? The traffic starts slowly and grow day by day. Your investment on the internet pays off and you get success. But suddenly you get an email from a customer where he says that he saw the same content and graphic of your website on the other website. After doing investigation, you come to know that another website has copied the portions of your website and displaying it to the world. No need to say that this copyright violation scenario can happen to you or me or with anyone. This is called as copyright infringement.
Copyright infringement occurs when someone, other than the copyright holder, copies, uses, distributes, sells or recreates another person’s work of authorship without the owner’s consent. The copyright infringement can happen in various ways, through various mediums, including text, literary work, paintings, photographs, motion pictures and musical recordings.
The Information Technology Laws mainly deal with the laws and regulations enforced for agreements and negotiations in the areas of software licensing and maintenance, e-commerce, IT-consulting, website hosting and development, data privacy, telecommunications, digitally transmitted information and elimination of paperwork.
The information technology laws cover almost all the criminal aspects of the misuse of Information Technology. Here is the overview of some information technology laws in United States.
Electronic Communications Privacy Act
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act, abbreviated as ECPA, was enacted by United States Congress in 1986 to extend the government restrictions on wire taps from telephone calls for including transmissions of electronic data or information by computer. This act sets out different provisions for use, access, interception, disclosure and privacy protections of electronic communications. According to the United States Code, electronic communications refer to any transfer of signals, signs, images, writing, sound, images, data transmitted in whole or in part by radio, wire, photo electronic system or electromagnetic system.
