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Fighting Cyber Crime the Better Way

As the use of mobile devices becomes more popular, the number of cyber crimes also increases. The internet can now be accessed by almost anyone who has a smartphone or other digital device. This worsening scene has made law enforcers look for more inventive ways of combating these criminals. The usual strategies alone cannot be effective against cyber crime. It needs a good deal of initiative, coupled with technology, in order to take a good stand against cyber criminals.

In California, a new special eCrime Unit is now catching and prosecuting internet crooks. This is a team created by the State’s Attorney General and, is comprised of 20 attorneys and investigators. It uses modern techniques to target criminal activities like email scams, piracy, child pornography, online fraud, and others. Many people have been, and are still being victimized by cyber crime, or e-crime, both online and off.

The unit has already solved one case and put a man in jail who was found guilty of hacking email and Facebook accounts. What he usually did was to break into an account, and he would then intimidate its owner by threatening to expose embarrassing pictures. Another case involved a criminal group whose main activity was using card scanners and hidden cameras at ATM machines to steal passwords and other sensitive account information.

Knowing that the internet is very important to the economy, to individuals, and to businesses, these criminals are not lacking in victims. From offline, their operations shifted online to steal very important information from individuals and groups. The year 2012 is seen to be a year of battling against online criminal activities. The past year proved to be problematic in terms of scams; this year will give rise to other types of online crimes.

More systematized and focused internet crime fighting activities will be delivered by the new eCrime Unit. According to the Attorney General, California would like to set a new trend in going after cyber criminals and prosecuting offenders. They will make sure that internet technology is useful not only to online criminals but more so to law enforcement agencies.

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Be Prepared for Narural Disasters

No matter what you call it, a natural disaster is something that comes with or without warning. The year 2011 was rich in natural catastrophes that cost billions of dollars. In the United States alone, there were numerous hurricanes and tornadoes. There were earthquakes that rocked and destroyed places on the East Coast, in Colorado and in Peru. Japan had her share of tsunami while Queensland, Australia, Bangkok and most recently the Philippines, suffered from devastating floods. Many people learned the lesson that natural disasters should be put at the top of risk concerns.

Businesses and government agencies have to be prepared for all these impending disasters. Every business and agency should have its own disaster recovery plan. In today’s information-driven world, power outages and network failures can be a result, and these further the chaos that comes with disasters. It should not be too late for every business to adapt and respond to risks if it is to survive. No matter what happens, there should be uninterrupted and continuous access to data, whether it is personal or corporate in nature.

So, how should one get ready for disaster? It is a given that the most important assets of a company or agency are its people. These people have their own most important asset, which is their family. The company or agency should have a plan on how to move its people, including their families, if the need arises. There should also be efforts to make a communication plan that is timely, clear and honest.

Because company and agency data are vital to the uninterrupted stream of activities, a data back-up plan should be verified and validated. Is it actually out of harm’s way? Is it accessible to the recovery location? What about data privacy? Cloud service is now available so a company or agency could use this to store key data.

Thinking ahead of the situation, it should be clear to all that catastrophic events could last for some time. The impact of such events could be expected to last for days, weeks or even months. What options are there if the business facilities, network, technology and people could not be available? It is also very important to think about those other businesses associated with it. Their being prepared has a direct effect on any company or agency because together, they form a chain or network. There is no point in doing everything right if everybody else around is not prepared.

Image: Maggie Smith / FreeDigitalPhotos.net