Privacy on the Internet

Many people take for granted privacy in everyday life, which is protected by the law. However, as the use of the Internet becomes more and more popular, privacy in the cyberspace becomes more and more of an issue. While it is illegal to read other's paper mails without his or her consent, the same principle should apply to e-mails. While it is illegal to intercept secret documents of others, this kind of behavior should be illegal in the cyberspace as well. While it is illegal to break into anyone's house, it should not be allowed for anyone to break into any computer system.

Unlike the cases in everyday life, these unethical behaviors in the cyberspace have not been fully regulated by the law. Even though there is already a concept of Internet Privacy Law, it is difficult to implement and enforce.

Our question is: How can we protect our own privacy when we are surfing on the Internet? Based on a survey conducted in March 1997, the concern over the privacy was a consistent and significant issue. In the past, people used to use anonymity as the method to protect their privacy. People today realize the limits of anonymity and start to adopt other technologies to protect their privacy. Cryptography is the most widely used technique, while corporations tend to build a firewall to prevent any person from illegally accessing their internal system and sensitive materials.