“Big Brother” is not the only one Watching!
In Orwell’s book 1984, the totalitarian government, referred to as “big brother”, watches the movements and monitors the thoughts of all citizens. While the government may be able to keep up with citizens more easily by monitoring internet activity, frankly, that should be the least of your worries.
With all the reports in recent months about data theft, loss, and compromise, it’s no surprise to learn that BusinessWeek recently reported cyber thieves are “watching” the internet activity of many home PC users. Those that bank and manage their brokerage accounts online are being targeted by hackers and, in the last year, “$20 million has been stolen from online brokerage accounts.” The Securities & Exchange Commission is investigating these newest cyber thefts but with “$1.7 trillion worth of assets in online brokerage accounts, [it’s a] lucrative pursuit for thieves.”
With Democrat and Republican congressional representatives doing battle over everything from supreme court nominations to disaster relief to the war on terrorism, it’s no wonder they can’t come to a consensus on legislation for privacy and security protection for Americans’ personal data and accounts.
Microsoft, the company that once pushed for self-regulation within the industry, has now presented Congress with an outline to facilitate the creation of “comprehensive” federal legislation on this issue. Currently, individual state legislatures have been the forerunners of privacy and security legislation for citizens. Without a federal umbrella to tie it all together, however, Americans will continue to be vulnerable and their assets in jeopardy of theft.
Right now, the only real protection Americans have is what they establish for themselves. Vigilance in protecting their information, passwords, account numbers and monitoring their accounts closely is the only way they can arm themselves against cyber theft.