THE FUTURE / BLOG 10

I'm going to begin by piggybacking off of my last post on the Deep Web to introduce my post on the future of computer crime. The future is most certainly lying within Tor browsers where anonymity allows everybody to do anything that they would please. This includes hacking companies or banks, selling drugs or murdering via a livestream. The issue with the future of computer crime lies simply in the topic itself. Computer crime and, more specifically, anonymous computer crime is difficult to track by its nature and by the time things had added up for law enforcement, the culprit has moved on and away and becomes unable to be tracked again.

The future has written itself out for law enforcement. They have to be able to keep up with the cyber criminals and find productive and effective ways of capturing and prosecuting them. Legislation also needs to be updated to mirror the changing times that we are currently living in. If hacker groups are doing their activities but are benefitting the greater good, shall that be allowed? What are the boundaries that law enforcement can cross when it comes to spying on and watching over people's computer usage? If there is enough circumstantial evidence in a case where computer evidence gets encrypted, shall that be allowed and admitted as a guilty catch?

There are more and more tech-savvy criminals popping up all over the web and it's important for the future of criminal justice to follow suit. Future criminal justice majors such as myself will need to be taught much more about programming and tracing identities through computers as a part of their regular curriculum as opposed to an elective that you choose to take on your own. As much as I enjoyed this course, my head simply cannot wrap itself around the technological side of things with just one course. I unfortunately do not currently have the skills to be placed into any position where I would be relied on to track people's activities through a computer. With the right training, sure. But that training is something that will need to be implemented into college degree programs in the near future.

ROLLING STONE / BLOG 9

         Here I am yet again. Writing about the Deep Web. You know you start noticing things once you've learned about them? They've always been there but now you're more educated and can notice them? That's how I am with the Dark Net/Deep Web/etc. I'm seeing it everywhere! Most recently I was at work and I saw in the mess of magazines the November issue of Rolling Stone. Right on the cover was "The Dark Web: Inside the Hidden Internet". I wasn't able to read the issue but I was lucky enough to find the matching article on Rolling Stone's website.




         Aside from learning more about what I already knew about the Deep Web on how it's below the "Surface" and uses Tor browsers to keep user anonymous, I found more out. I had no idea that the government funds the majority of the Deep Web for good reasons. I was under the assumption that the Tor browser software somehow funded the Deep Web and that it was only used for bad. I also discovered more about the "layers" of the Internet. Yes, there is the "Surface" and the "Deep Web" but there is then the "Darknet" which is the most private, most protected aspect of the Deep Web. Ulbricht's case was mentioned as well as "Darkode", a mass hacker forum and community that was operating in the Deep Web and has now moved into the Darknet. Terrorists have been using this side of the Internet for recruiting purposes and planning out attacks. The Deep Web has just gotten scarier and scarier the more that I've learned about it.




         I decided to watch a YouTube video on the kind of things you can find. That was a mistake. It made me angry, upset and have so many other feelings. It now makes so much sense that the government funds this for good purposes because before I knew that I was always so confused how these people were able to get away with all of this stuff. I figured it was as simple as outlawing Tor browsers. When there are good things coming from the Deep Web, however, things get messy. As the article states, "The same tools that keep government agents and dissidents anonymous keep criminals virtually invisible too".

         I am so unbelievably fascinated by the Deep Web and I hope to learn more about it even after this course has finished up. I'm thankful that this Rolling Stone article highlighted all of the good things that it can be used for because after hearing about all of the murder, child pornography and drugs that can be viewed/purchased via the Deep Web, my heart can rest a little lighter now that I know it's being balanced out (if it can be balanced out at all) with the good.

Article link: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-battle-for-the-dark-net-20151022?page=2

ANONYMOUS / BLOG 8

         Jumping back to two posts ago here on my blog… something very interesting has happened today. The "hacktivist" group Anonymous has begun posting emails and phone numbers for alleged members of the Ku Klux Klan. 1,000 full identities are rumored to be exposed this Thursday. This is a black and white example of fighting evil with evil. On the numerous news sites reporting about this happening, although it's only been up for about a half hour, there are many people jumping to the defense of the KKK's anonymity. Yes, what the Klan does is hateful but an anonymous group giving up the information of another anonymous organization is wildly ironic.

         Ah, the power of the Internet. This was possible because Anonymous hacked into a "compromised" Twitter account that housed much of the email information that they eventually leaked today. Supposedly Anonymous and the Klan have had issues with each other in the past and Anonymous made it very clear in their leak today that they were not intending on bashing them for their use of free speech and that, although it is hateful, their speech is legal and shall remain so. That being said, Anonymous claims that the Klan's actions are terrorist-like and much more than an extremist or hate group.

         Although this news is unrelated to Chapter 11 in the text, law enforcement can be tied in because of the potential leak of political and enforcement leaders' names later this week. Anonymous has mentioned that they have information about the Ku Klux Klan that would link them to the Ferguson issues and if that ends up being true, the topic of police corruption will be raised and potential social distrust of police would skyrocket.

         Since this news is so recent and sudden, I have not yet formed an opinion on it. Although I am all for people owning up to their hateful behavior regardless of they believe they should be guarded by an anonymous curtain, the legitimacy of this leak is questionable at this point and repercussions from the Klan concern me. I'm not bothered by the irony of Anonymous leaking other organization's anonymous information because, as their group type "hacktivist" suggests, they get their information through hacks in compromised accounts and sites and that's just as they did with this situation.

Article link: http://www.ibtimes.com/anonymous-begins-publishing-ku-klux-klan-member-details-online-2164710