CheckList

1) Essay choice (Check )

2) Identification of keywords and experts (Check, but not fully stated )

3) Breakdown of the research domain and subtopics (Somewhat )

4) Generation of related questions and short answers ( Check)

5) Identification of some assumptions and biases (Check )

6) Reviewing of the research literature (Check 
)
7) Experimental /creative exploration of the question (Check )

8) Relate the question to other lecture topics or courses (Check but minimal )

9) Exploring possible thesis statements (Check )

10) Strategizing the essay structure or outline (Not Check )

11) Work schedule (Not in blog )

12) Reflections on or tutorial sessions, etc. (Check ) 

13) Summary of blog entries (Check )

Progression 7

An interesting debate I decided to place here for your consideration of the Yes and No points regarding the Brief question 4 about Privacy vs Security of the net. You can read the entire debate in the below link and it'll give you something more to think about in order to make a final decision on where you stand in this matter.

Once again, I've chose the U.S. to be my study case and there are valuable tons of information in this debate that gave me an insightful view of how the country works with it's amendments and rules. It also grants us clarity over the risks we would be taking if the government were given free reins over all it's citizen's private information. The concerns, pros and cons for both sides were recorded accordingly and will be the basis for my essay at this point.

We can also clearly see from this post the complications a country and government have that influences their decision to either heighten, or drop security measures.

Below is the link to this interesting debate and I hope you'll get as much use for this information as i did:

http://debatewise.org/debates/3040-privacy-vs-security/

Harvard Referencing:

Debatewise.org,. "Privacy Vs Security | | Debatewise - Where Great Minds Differ". N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

Progression 6

Another good example of a compromise by the government followed by explanations as to the reasoning, limits and means to an end regarding the safety, security and privacy issues of Netizens. It appears that in this discussion, there is a plan in place that would allow a fair share of control to be driven by the government but also providing an ample amount of privacy to it's users at the same time.

 This reflects back on my 4th blog labelled 'Progression 5' whereby I suggested a compromise between the two sides of the debate. It also suggests that no matter how much we as users, would want freedom, it has to be limited for the best interests of not only the government but the citizens as well. No one can have true freedom anymore since everyone is out to get you. It's either the peeping eye of the government or the wily fingers of hackers and viruses.

 Leaving that as the final ultimatum makes it simple and clear what our remaining choices are; none. We have to put our faith in that one faction or risk facing the music should we refuse. Below is the link to the discussion and it also provides a few scenarios for us to brainstorm about:

https://www.library.gatech.edu/security/privacy.htm

Harvard Referencing:

Library.gatech.edu,. "NATIONAL SECURITY For The 21St Century". N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

Question confirmation: Question 4.

I would like to confirm that my chosen question for this subject for internet culture studies is Question 4: Must we sacrifice our privacy on the web for greater national security?

I decided to make a case study on this question because of  the significance of this question to today's society and how much it can affect us to know which side to take on this debate regarding the security ad privacy of internet users. I hope to accomplish this via research and reading through established articles and journals to give everyone a good idea on this current issue.

I also plan to search up both sides of the coin to see which argument is more relevant and how it may affect our standing and point of view on this matter. I will try not to be biased and my opinions are just opinions and must not be taken as facts though it is based on factual statistics and demographics.

Let the blogging continue...

Progression 5

I've decided to make a case study on the United States of America in this case in regards how a country's political state affects the opinions on internet safety/privacy. In this study journal, oh so rightly named the National Journal, it seems that a majority of the country's netizens are not only concerned about their privacy on the net, but they also rather take the safe-keeping into their own hands.

 However, they are sincerely concerned by the vulnerability of the internet to hacking and other nuisances. In comes the NSA surveillance and we find through their spyware and surveys the percentage of affected netizens and those who might be next. The journal also places statistics on our vulnerability to remind us that internet safety and security might be very much needed as well, though netizens are still vying for a right to some degree of privacy.


In my opinion now, perhaps having spyware isn't such a bad thing, since it means that the government can keep track of any danger iyou may come into contact with online. Unfortunately this also comes with it's own risks, such as scenarios like someone successfully jacking the NSA spyware for example. It would be a terrifying ordeal for everyone if something like that came to pass so in this case, it seems finding solutions for problems opens up even more issues.

The journal can be found here:

http://www.nationaljournal.com/s/71216/americans-worries-about-internet-privacy-go-beyond-nsa-surveillance

Harvard Reference:

National Journal, (2016). Americans’ Worries About Internet Privacy Go Beyond NSA Surveillance. [online] Available at: http://www.nationaljournal.com/s/71216/americans-worries-about-internet-privacy-go-beyond-nsa-surveillance [Accessed 8 Jan. 2016].

Progression 4

A new angle and argument to this issue continues with some information I found that suggests that the government is spying on it's citizens not for their benefit, but our own. In the following articles, I found that some people agree that their privacy is being threatened by hackers and foreign powers alike and that keeping spyware on all users allows the government to keep tabs on suspicious activity. This provides a new light on the NECESSITY of spyware and it's benefits for us than against us.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/09/20/countries-should-protect-privacy-digital-age

There has also been an interest in providing users the ability to see the data that their government has been keeping on them to allow the citizens some freedom to check on just how far their online privacy goes and the boundaries which the government has deemed fit to overcome. Strangely, only a few countries complied to this, perhaps showing it's lack of importance to the eyes of the officials.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/228627/article.html

Either way, it is a good angle to think about the PROS of spyware instead of simply stating the CONS as most users would do in bias.

Harvard reference:

Baker, J. (2016). EU Countries Ignore New Law on Internet Privacy. [online] PCWorld. Available at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/228627/article.html [Accessed 4 Jan. 2016].
Human Rights Watch, (2013). Countries Should Protect Privacy in Digital Age. [online] Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/09/20/countries-should-protect-privacy-digital-age [Accessed 4 Jan. 2016].

Progression 3 (Daniel's)

Definitions of Security and Privacy, just to provide a better understanding for the subject matter.

SECURITY:
In information technology, security is the protection of information assets through the use of technology, processes, and training.
Other Definitions:

1. Finance: A financing or investment instrument issued by    a company or government agency that denotes an ownership        interest and provides evidence of a debt, a right to share in the earnings of  the issuer, or a right in the distribution of a property.

 Securities include bonds, debentures, notes, options, shares, and warrants but  not insurance policies, and may be traded in financial markets such as stock  exchanges.

2. Banking: An asset pledged to guaranty the repayment of    a loan, satisfaction of an obligation, or in compliance of an agreement.

 Security gives a lender or obliged a legal right of access to the pledged  asset and to take their possession and title in case of default for
 a foreclosure sale.

3.Computing: The extent to which a computer system is protected  from data corruption, destruction, interception, loss, or unauthorized access.  See also secure system.

4.The prevention of and protection against assault, damage, fire, fraud, invasion  of privacy, theft, unlawful entry, and other such occurrences caused by  deliberate action. See also safety.

PRIVACY:

What does privacy mean?

Well, it depends on who you ask. Broadly speaking, privacy is the right to be let alone, or freedom from interference or intrusion. Information privacy is the right to have some control over how your personal information is collected and used.

Ask most people these days what they think of when it comes to privacy and you’re likely to have a conversation about massive data breaches, wearable tech, social networking, targeted advertising miscues—not to mention the Snowden revelations.

Add to that, various cultures have widely differing views on what a person’s rights are when it comes to privacy and how it should be regulated.

More importantly, why does it matter?

With speed-of-light technological innovation, information privacy is becoming more complex by the minute as more data is being collected and exchanged. As the technology gets more sophisticated (indeed, invasive), so do the uses of data. And that leaves organizations facing an incredibly complex risk matrix for ensuring that personal information is protected.

As a result, privacy has fast-emerged as perhaps the most significant consumer protection issue—if not citizen protection issue—in the global information economy.

Privacy v. security…isn’t it the same thing?

Not really. But they are kissing cousins. Data privacy is focused on the use and governance of personal data—things like putting policies in place to ensure that consumers’ personal information is being collected, shared and used in appropriate ways. Security focuses more on protecting data from malicious attacks and the exploitation of stolen data for profit. While security is necessary for protecting data, it’s not sufficient for addressing privacy.

Harvard Reference:
SearchSecurity, (2015). What is security? - Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/security [Accessed 8 Dec. 2015].
Iapp.org, (2015). What is Privacy. [online] Available at: https://iapp.org/about/what-is-privacy [Accessed 8 Dec. 2015].
BusinessDictionary.com, (2015). What is a security? definition and meaning. [online] Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/security.html [Accessed 8 Dec. 2015].