Sharing Data With International Security Organizations and Spy Agencies - Slippery Slope

Maybe we do need a rather substantial push back from globalism, maybe the global elite have pushed a bridge too far. Did you know that we are sharing data about our citizens with international security organizations and they with us? It's true. One could say this global safety net is for our protection, and yet, I wonder. You see, as a business person whose done business internationally, I hate to think all my communication data is being shared with others in other governments, who can use that data, sell it to my competitors or interfere in my business efforts. Whose idea was this?
"Oh, we need it for global security against terrorists" they say. Well, if we were not busy having wars for oil resources, or stirring up the hornet's nest in the middle east, there would be a lot less terrorism in the world. Do we really need to collect data at this level on all of our citizens? No. Likewise, do we really need to share all our data with the rest of the world, remember we can trust them even less than our own government insider corrupted scoundrels?
Now then, another troubling thing is that we give foreign surveillance teams access to our public's information; Britain, Vatican (to protect the Pope during travels), Germany, France, EU, etc. All this sharing means too many people have access to all this information. Many nations in the EU are pretending to protect their public from us prying, but the reality is we have reciprocal agreements for data sharing, especially cloud data now.
Having the voting records for everyone is problematic, as it can be accessed by anyone, foreign spies can find sympathizers, or know who their major opponents are for media feed manipulation, just as Google and Facebook tailor the news to what you most likely want to hear, thus, clouding your judgement pro or con a particular party, candidate, or thoughts on a specific issue, just like CNN, MSNBC, or FOX News might, or the NYTs, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe or Miami Herald, see that challenge too?
If you really believe all this data collection, privacy intrusion, and surveillance is good for you, our society, or our future, it is evident to me that you don't study your own history, or understand the Machiavellian world we live in. We all agree information is power, so why would you turn over all your information to your government, a foreign government or foreign spies and hackers? Think on this.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9596694

Protecting Your Business Website From Malwares

With ecommerce sites on the rise and over a million new stains of malware developed every day, protecting your business site from attacks from viruses and malware has become a priority now. Hackers are continually creating various new means to gather credit card details and other personal information from their online transactions. Adopting the best security practices has now become very crucial for merchants. It has become essential to install the proper website protection to stop various attacks and today, there are several programs that can be used to protect your computer from such malware attacks.
It is seen that attackers are not actually developing new means to penetrate sites, but they are taking the advantage of poor passwords, unpatched vulnerabilities, weak permission settings and ownership in the file system. Small to medium sized enterprises are the largest targets of cyber-attacks and about 30,000 SMEs are targeted every day. Don't allow your business to be the victim of expensive cyber-attack damages, instead, be proactive and take essential steps to prevent security threats. So, to ensure the highest levels of security, here are some means to protect your site from malwares.
Patches and updates: If your website is running on a Content management system like WordPress, then make sure that your website security is tight. Though a CMS is an easy and cost effective means to update your website content, but they are also to a large extent large target of cyber-crimes. There are many CMS platforms and extensions or plugins that are easy targets for the hackers and often allow access to your server and personal or vital data. Ensure that your plugins, themes and systems are always up to date. There are CMS solutions that automatically update the files for your site.
Firewalls: Continuously removing the existing website threats is a good idea, but it is also important to stop them from coming back again and again. With over 1 million fresh malwares created, your business site has a chance to get infected by a new virus every day. Using a web application firewall can help to prevent cyber criminals from attacking your site. The firewall will act as a filter and will only allow legitimate traffic to access your site while blocking malicious traffic.
Comply with PCI standards: The PCI or the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a security standard that online businesses should adhere to if they are involved in online payment transactions and accept major credit cards. This will help to ensure that your customers are protected from any cyber threats and frauds. Businesses that fail to comply with the standards can result in financial damages, government fines and also ruin brand reputation.
Create a strong password: Good and strong passwords always help to protect your files. Your password should always contain over 8 characters, a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, include digits and special characters and etc. Unfortunately, most people are not careful while choosing their passwords and this allows brute force hacking techniques to access website easily and gather private data. Since hackers use various decoding programs to attack your site, the more unique your password is, the more protected is your site from cyber criminals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9579555