Internet Privacy

The article, Privacy on the Internet: Issues and implications, offers a great statement from The Code of Canon Law when it states, “Information does not simply occur; it has to be sought.” Referring back to early articles and courses, there is a point at which raw data and details become information, then there is a transition from information into knowledge.

This is why, in this learner’s opinion, information security and privacy are so important; with the smallest private details, malicious individuals or groups can wreck havoc. Individuals uninitiated to the risks the exist in the current technological climate may take online security for granted. Many individuals in society nowadays understand the dangers that are ever present because:

1) they have experienced some type of threat, exploit, invasion of privacy, or fraud

2) have had training or education concerning the dangers of the Internet age.

Deeper in the article by Nguyen, talks about things such as dataveillance, data gathering, cookies and Internet privacy. For younger members of the household, there are a number of free services that can entice these users into sharing ‘little’ details or visiting seemingly safe websites that can install threats onto a home computer.

Unbeknownst to an adult user, these threats may gather or watch for opportunities to steal very sensitive details as users enter information on websites. For this reason, it is necessary to have proper protections installed in the way of antivirus programs, authentication, restriction and website filters for not only younger users but overall.

Nguyen, F. (2007). Privacy on the Internet: Issues and implications. Philippine Canonical Forum, 9, 117-136.