We tread the internet in tip-toe fashion, trying not to clumsily step on anything hazardous to our online health or alerting the attention of unwanted hacker publicity. Why? Because we know that lurking in the not too distant background is the possibility that our identity could be stolen and used innappropriately or credit card details could be used to transact a criminal's spending spree.

We're just trying to download the latest offering from iTunes or pay for a successful auction win on Ebay unaware that the threat is real or that it may be greater than we first assumed. Most internet users, myself included, assume that e-crime is something that happens to other people and optimistically prescribe to the notion that companies are getting better at dealing with these security risks. They're not!

In fact, most online companies while employing a 128bit SSL for their transactions fail to secure the backend of their data, inadvertently creating a back-door for would-be hackers. Now imagine for a second that your data, address, full name, date of birth and credit card details are sitting insitu on some (unfortunately not-so) secure server with the backdoor left wide open. It's like a red-rag to a bull teasing hackers to try their luck.

And who's to blame for the increase in e-crime? Well, while we're pointing the finger it must be directed toward the door of the reigning governments initially. Are they fair dinkum (an Australian colloquialism translated as "genuine") about resolving this type of crime that will inevitably cost the community? There seems to be little that is being legislated in this arena and the resourcing for crime prevention compared to the resourcing of criminals borders on obscure.

My life, like many others, is becoming increasingly dependent on the web. Unfortunately though, it can be that life can be rubbed out quicker on the internet that it can in real life.

Read this article.