In case you have been stranded on a desert island for the past several years, it appears that the terrorist networks use the Internet to communicate around the world. Specifically they use chat-rooms and free email services.

In case you were pulling a Rip Van Winkle during the past year, the fastest growing crime is reported to be “identity theft” where your personal information is harvested from the Internet, and then used to commit fraud and outright theft, using your identity.

The Internet did not cause any of the above crimes. Unfortunately, because of the way the Internet was born and grew, it lends itself to providing near-perfect cover for criminals of all stripes. Every form of crime that has ever occurred exists in one form or another on the Internet. There are no comparable ‘internet cops’ to offset the new “Internet criminals,” and therein lies the problem.

The Internet is based on what is known as “trusted systems.” You literally “trusted” the other guy to not abuse your systems. Early on, when the Internet was essentially two modems talking to each other, the problem was getting them to pass useable information, let alone actually “connect” computers. You did not expect your research partner on the other end to attempt to find ways to subvert the system you were both depending on. Unfortunately those days are long gone, yet much of the infrastructure of the Internet is still based on that “trust” concept.
The strength of the Internet has been its openness. No matter where you are in the world, you can access the entire Internet. That is the theory at least, and in practice it is nearly that universal. The weakness of the Internet is its openness, and the vast opportunity for mischief that openness brings. Unfortunately, in their zeal to use this wonderful new whiz-bang, companies and even government agencies carelessly placed confidential and private information in public or readily accessible locations. Everything from birth records to tax records to credit histories have been exposed on the Internet.

It is your responsibility to protect yourself. Unfortunately, much of your personal information is probably already floating around in the Internet. You need to immediately start developing defenses, and you must immediately begin to learn strategies for stopping the exposure of additional personal information. Insist on privacy anywhere you can as forcefully as you can.

Happily, the tool that makes it (too) easy for thieves to steal your identity also provides information and tools to combat them. The Internet provides a multitude of resources and information on how to protect yourself. A good starting point is to visit http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ where you will find the fundamentals of the problem and the solution. The key is to act before you have a problem. After you have the problem, and the horse is out of the proverbial barn, it is far too late, and it is far too painful to recover.

The range of criminal activity swarming to the Internet “virtual world” encompasses nearly every form of criminal activity that exists in the “brick and mortar” world. Some of the most troubling are the growing incidents of child abuse and criminal predation of children. This is a growing problem, and the trend suggests that it is much larger and more pervasive than even the worst pessimists dreamed. It now appears that in a single case, more than 3000 individuals from all walks of life were trading information and graphic depictions of young children as young as six years old, actively engaged in sexual activity. Some of the worst “virtual gatherings” included detailed instructions on how to subvert and seduce away children from the protections of family, friends, school, and church.

The Internet is an astonishingly powerful and versatile tool for myriad useful and worthwhile purposes. As with any powerful tool, it can be subverted to dangerous and unworthy uses. It is your responsibility to treat this tool with the caution and respect due any such a powerful tool.

You would not put a powered up chainsaw into the hands of a 7 year old, nor would you hand a loaded gun to your twelve-year old unless properly supervised in a place and at a time appropriate to safe shooting activity. You would not hand the keys to your family chariot to a nine-year old and say, “be good and stay out of trouble.” Don’t treat the Internet any more lightly. If you take the attitude of treating the Internet as carefully as you treat sharp knives, you will be far better off in the long run.

It’s a jungle out there. Believe it.