Data Privacy and the Identity Theft –the look over the shape of Personal Information protection

According to the definition, Information (Data) Privacy is a relationship between collection and dissemination of data, technology, the public expectation of privacy, and the legal and political issues surrounding them.

Today the issue comes more and more important as the amount of collected and stored personally identifiable information arise. Maybe You have never imagined that the privacy can be violated in lot of zones, not only your address, phone number or ID can be used. It considers also your biological traits, financial stage, people you meet, health state etc. The challenge in data privacy is how to protect personally identifiable information while sharing data. 

As the theme of Information Privacy becomes more common, the law in many countries  in the world tries to answer the need of regulation in this field ( eg. UK, USA, AUS ). In Poland there is a loud discussion today where is the border line between data retention desired for keeping safety and the invigilation. European Union has imposed the directive regulating the issue of protection of personal data.

However there are still many discussions if the shape of it is correct and acceptable.

Besides the debatable aspects of the domestic and international law in the world regulating personal data restoring and protection there is no doubt that there are some dangers coming from our personal Information kept not safely.

One of this is Identity Theft. It is more possible today when in common use the Internet is. Before providing more information about it I would like to present a short film.

Maybe while watching it you have been wondering what does connect this film with the problem of privacy in the Web. I will try to explain it in a few words.

Even though that the film is the parody of the movie and the problem of cloning, it shows that everyone can steal your identity  and such  situation may be danger, irritating and frustrating.  And this may happen via the Internet –it is enough to get just few information about you and someone can destroy your life.

This is the power of modern shape of the Net.

In all areas of your life in which you share your personal information in,  you are a potential victim. I am not saying about the hackers –they have to be the specialists and have important reasons for stealing your identity. Moreover we use all the securities to save our data. I suggest that sometimes the bigger danger for us are the people who we know personally in the real world.

For example, the case of social media is completely accessible for those of your friends who want to do you harm. Such case happened to my friend. Someone created HIS account on social portal . This person used the profile to send false messages to the other people. The result was that my friend had large problems with them and he did not know the reason. When he discovered the problem he had to create the real account and to rectify the situation. The basic cause of situations like this is poor  level of information privacy in the Internet and possibility of creating accouts knowing just basic data like name, which are not verifiable.

Another problem which we often are not aware of is that we ourselves place our personal data, information and photos in the Web. Somebody who follows our account on social portal knows nearly everything about us. Such a person has all necessary data to steal our identity- it so easy then and we are partly responsible for it.

I do not want to scare you or discourage to the Internet. I only want to give the information on such danger like identity theft  and sensitize you to such problem. Maybe we should give more efforts to check info which we receive and place in the Net.

Downloading -legal or illegal?

Watching this film forced me to ask again the question which I have asked many times so far. I have discussed it through with my family, friends, teachers  etc. but we  have still not found any common answer. I will try to present some statements considering this issue in this paper and I encourage you to leave your thoughts in the comments.

I would like to concentrate on the problem of sharing and downloading music from the Internet. There is a lot of Polish Websites where you can place and save the music for free. Is it legal? The Polish law says: YES. But there are some conditions. According to uploading: you are obliged to have all rights to the file which you are making accessible. According to downloading: you can do it only for your own use and you cannot share it with others. The problem is that the P2P downloading requires sharing so P2P downloading is against the law.

Well, why cannot I make an access to the files which I have downloaded? If it was the CD I could lend it  anyone and it would be legal, would not it?  
[You can find opinions of other internet users here.]
Moreover, when someone recorded the music and the file is commonly accessible why cannot I help others to find it? I agree that most of musicians want to earn and I respect it. However, what is the difference if someone downloads by oneself or with help? For the case of musician’s money there is no difference though. 

What could be more danger in this case is when you publish your own music file because there is a chance of property theft. I mean that someone can use your file (e.g. record it by oneself and say that it is his or her composition).

For example, I published one of my songs in the Net. The main reason was to smooth the way of listening it for my friends. However, I am not against listening it by others. However, I would be angry if someone recorded it again and published as his own.

According to the problem of downloading: why could  I not download the song which I can listen to on the radio even on the internet radio? Few years ago I could go to the shop to buy the tape, listen to the radio and push "record" when my favorite song appeared. What is the difference between those old way of collecting good music and the way of today?

I have to admit that this questions seem to be without the answers. Although the law says something about it, although the conscience says something else, the problem is to understand every voice in this discussion. It seems  that every voice is different and there is no rule who says NO to such business and who says YES.  

Identity Theft

I have chosen this short film as the base of my reflection about stolen identity. Maybe while watching it you have been wondering what does connect this film with the problem of privacy in the Web. I will try to explain it in few words.

Even though that the film is the parody of the movie and the problem of cloning, it shows that everyone can steal your identity  and such  situation may be danger, irritating and frustrating.  And this may happen via the Internet –it is enough to get just few information about you and someone can destroy your life.

This is the power of modern shape of the Net.

Do not you believe me? Here I would like to present some arguments confirming my statement.
First of all, I would like to ask what do we use Internet for?

• Searching the Information?  e.g. here YES
• Finding friends? e.g. here YES
• Staying in touch with  others?  e.g. here  or here YES
• Finances?  e.g.  YES
• Gossips?   e.g.  YES
• Education? e.g. YES

One word: EVERYTHING

And in all these areas you are a potential victim. I am not saying about the hackers –they have to be the specialists and have important reasons for stealing your identity. Moreover we use all the securities to save our dates. I suggest that the bigger danger for us are the people who we know personally in the real world.

To explain it I want to ask some other questions:

• Do your acquaintances have any photos of you?
• Do they know when you were born?
• Does anyone knows  your e-mail address, schools which you attended, interests etc?

I am convinced that the answers were: yes, yes, yes. So, what is the problem to create YOUR account wherever for them and to lead a virtual life in the name of you? It is obvious that such areas like finances are very well protected. However, the case of social media is completely free for those of your friends who want to do you harm. Such case happened to my friend.

Someone created HIS account on social portal . This person used the profile to send false messages to the other people. The result was that my friend had large problems with them and he did not know the reason. When he discovered the problem he had to create the real account and to rectify the situation.

I do not want to scare you or discourage to the Internet. I only want to give the information on such danger like identity theft  and sensitize you to such problem. Maybe we should give more efforts to check info which we get by the Net.

Mutual influence of ICT and education

Modern world develops faster than whenever. Undoubtedly, worldwide progress gives new challenges for education. It also supports the education and offers many new attractive solutions for teacher’s work. This fact is connected with mutual influence of ICT and education. The questions which appears are:

• What opportunities given by ICT achievements can we exploit in education?
• What challenges have we to overcome?
• The last is if only ICT influences education or education does the same? 

This paper tries to find the answers. I hope You will read it carefully and leave Your point of view.

First of all, the big advantage of ICT is smoothing the way of communication. There are three types of communication: teacher <–>pupil, pupil <-> pupil and teacher <-> parents. These are the fundamental relations in the educational process and it is extraordinarily important to create them. Such forms like blogging, Internet Communicators, face book and e-registers are the ways of improving the quality and frequency of contacts between clue members of learning process.

Moreover, especially meaningful is use of SMART Board interactive whiteboards in the classroom. In some classes they are still used only like an additional screen however they have much more interesting functions.  Furthermore, new sources of information are obvious facilities in education. Internet is today the biggest base of information. It is often said at today’s school that if something is not in Google it does not exist! In such situation it is obvious that modern teacher must refer to valuable sides in network. More information about the sources of Information in  the Internet You can find here. A forementioned examples show us that ICT creates new opportunities in educational reality. They may make lessons more attractive and the knowledge more desired.

On the other hand , ICT gives challenges too. The case of preparing for jobs we do not know now appears the most difficult for teachers. The short film "THE DEVELOPMENT GROWS FASTER AND FASTER" presents rightly this issue.

We are the teachers of today, but our pupils are people of tomorrow. Do we have to become teachers of tomorrow? Of course YES –but HOW? Maybe the solution is to learn how to adapt to new equipment rather than how to use it.

The similar difficulty is that education of today needs to develop ability of solving problems we do not know yet. This means that we have to teach how manage problems, how to overcome difficulties which are alike in various problems. We cannot concentrate on core  but on the whole aspect of the problematic situation and all the feelings to overcome in such moments.

While saying about challenges given to education by ICT we cannot omit the case of negative consequences of using it. The task for school is to show what dangers person may encounter while using all blessings of ICT-civilization and how to avoid them.

To sum up I am going to make the statement that not only ICT influence education. We cannot forget that this relation is mutual. I mean that the improvement of ICT determines the look of education. On the other hand the better quality of education is, the more ICT develops. This two areas are strictly connected and being teachers we have to remember about this.

Our Grandparents - are they really pre-ict generation?

           We treat them like dinosaurs –they do not know what a computer is, they do not use mobile phones , their world is only filled with paper books and old yellow letters. Have you ever thought about pensioners as common users of new technology? Maybe it is high time to think about it. In 2005 only about 30% people over 70 years old have ever used Internet in USA. In Poland –this number is almost 10 times lower. In the same time the general percentage of Internet holders (at home) was above  60% in USA and above 25% in Poland. Why does it look like this? Do not seniors need the Internet? Or maybe we do not give them a chance of using it?

Could you imagine my pride and happiness when one morning I received an e-mail from my grandfather? He is eighty  but his age does not stop him from  keeping up with ict news. We  often forget that people in their ages are like us prospective users of computers, internet or mobile phones.

What opportunities are offered to elderly people via internet? Are they more important than the difficulties connected with using it? These are the main questions which I will try to answer and I am waiting for your experiences and thoughts about it.

I would like to start from difficulties- they are first  because just after overcoming them the profits come. There are many people in their age who have plenty of free time –left by their children and grandchildren having a lot of duties. Very often they do not have neither opportunities nor abilities to go out and lead social or cultural life. Then there is a moment when they discover that computer with the internet could be the solution. However, how to do this? There are many problems connected.

First difficulty is to conquer the feelings like shame or fear. After that the question appears: how to find a proper equipment and where to buy it. This is the time when elderly  people may need our help. OK, there is a new computer and internet connection in some grandma’s or grandpa’s home. What now? Most of people do not know what to do with all these cables or keys. Actually this problem is aptly presented in this advertisement of one of PC guides for seniors. We could title it "SENIORS NEED OF NEW TECHNOLOGY AND THEIR DIFFICULTIES".

 You can say that above-mentioned problems are too big to deal with and that would be better for seniors to remain a member of pre-ict generation. Nevertheless, are not the profits worth some effort? So, what does the internet offers people in their 70thies or 80thies?

For those whose families are far away internet could be a chance for  staying in touch with rising grandchildren and successful children. There is a notable application which provides a contact with family, storing photos or films sent by internet, offers a calendar and private notes – it is called connected living. The short film presents basic assumptions of "Connected Living". 

Computer with internet connection and such application with easy panel is a real change in someone’s lonely life. They can even find love via Internet!

And what about seniors who  have a good relation with their families? The internet is also for them! My grandpa is still an active man –he gives speeches during conferences, he is a conductor, he works in garden a lot. And my grandma loves her flowers, wool and dishes. Do they need the Internet?  You can see them in the pictures below: they use an internet, mobile phones and Xerox machine. What for?

                       

To find the new receipts for my favorite dish when I visit them; to buy new notes for the choir; to be in touch with corporations and cultural associations; to prepare presentation for the  conferences; to read news in  the world of culture, policy etc.

Thus, have you ever thought what do your grandparents need internet for? How many seniors in your country use ICT? If they do so, what do they use it for? If they do not, why do not they? Are the difficulties bigger than the opportunities?

 These are the questions which we need to ask and we need to search the answers.

New Beginning

I have never had such a blog before.
I have some written in Polish (my mother tongue), however they are the space where I share my thoughts about human life. I leave the part of myself there -my words, my photos, my voice...
and here there is something completely different.
I have created this blog to share my point of view which comes out from my studies. I am going to write here about very serious and important things but not strictly connected with my private life -and this is something new for me.
Even though, I believe this space will become the area of sharing thoughts and giving reasons to think about problems we do not notice every average day.
I hope you who visit this blog, will help me with looking for the answers which I do not know and with making statements about social, cultural and educational aspects of Information and communications technology .