Due to the massive reach and accessibility of the internet online transactions are undoubtedly becoming more dubious. Who is really on the other side? The Associated press recently published an interesting article regarding the White House’s latest plans to counteract online security threats which I’ve referred to below. Check out their full article at theadvertiser.com
The possibility of identity theft, phishing attempts, account breaches and other online scams are growing in number and becoming more sophisticated by the day. The US Government have taken initial steps to try and add increased security to citizens online but the difficulty is that the most obvious suggestions of authenticating identity such as identity cards etc bring with them fears of privacy issues and the cynicism of a government tracking its people.
The associated Press note that, knowing the obstacles the white house recently drafted a plan for a voluntary identification system and released it on a website to collect input from experts and everyday users alike on their thoughts and ideas on structuring such a system. As expected there was a mixture of responses almost immediately proving the provocative nature of said topic.
“The technology that has brought many benefits to our society and has empowered us to do so much has also empowered those who are driven to cause harm,” said White House cyber coordinator Howard Schmidt in a blog posting Friday outlining the need for better security online. Schmidt is of the opinion that a digital certificate or similar implement is the answer to all online transactions.
The biggest issue with such technologies is undoubtedly the fear of privacy issues and government tracking, a fear that an independent people take extremely seriously. The issue lies in balancing the maintaining of a person’s privacy while finding out enough about a person to validate their identity.
There is a counter argument that there are services such as Maildistiller and Webaware supplied by MSPs worldwide that if availed of on a greater scale the numbers of cyber threats regarding online security would be mitigated instantly.
The article goes on to tell us how Cyber security expert Roger Thornton states, there are even more sophisticated technologies available out there used for bigger enterprises requiring the highest of securities such as banks. He noted that banks already use sophisticated fingerprinting processes to identify a customer who signs in. The system knows if a customer is using a different computer and will often require additional identification if that computer has not been used for the banking website before. This plan by the government, Thornton suggests, provides an opportunity to makes things more “uniform”.
The draft plan is part of an administration effort to promote cyber security both within the government and among society as a whole. Lawmakers have introduced a number of bills aimed at furthering those goals, and the White House plan was met with initial support from one of the authors of Senate computer security legislation.
The question remains though, how much personal information would you be willing to relinquish to those in power or is it a question of taking a gamble and praying that you’re not the next target in cyber crime? To be fair the latter is a bit extreme and risky and not something I think any of us with any sort of internet know-how would advocate. Prevention is better than cure so don’t forget about the other solutions available to you out there offered by people like us at Maildistiller allowing you safer internet browsing without the Big Brother feeling. 
