Electronic,Snooping,Not,Just,U law Electronic “Snooping” - Not Just Unethical

Bankruptcy is a situation, wherein an individual is termed as unable to discharge all the debts. When a person or a company is not able to pay off its creditors, it has an obligation to file a bankruptcy suit. In fact, a bankruptcy suit is a When you work with an attorney, you will have no problem reducing the risks associated with getting your case in front of a judge and jury, or other formal court, when you need to. However, every case is different. It is important to work wi

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}As the Internet grows by leaps andbounds, information about nearly anyone is just a few keystrokes away. While itis clearly not a crime to perform an Internet search on someone’s name, askfriends and family about that person, or e-mail your acquaintances forinformation, it is surprisingly easy for mere curiosity to cross the line intoan unethical or even illegal act.Trying to enter someone’s privatee-mail account or breaking into password-protected areas on social networkingsites like Facebook, MySpace or Twitter can actually be criminal acts. In somestates, these actions can be considered violations of privacy rights or fallunder the purview of anti-stalking laws. Under federal law, these acts may beconsidered computerfraud, computer and information theft, or cyberterrorism, violationsof which can even result in felony charges.When Does Snooping Cross the Line? Sometimes businesses or governmentagencies use hacking-type actions for legitimate purposes. As long as theseactions are strictly controlled, for example to gather evidence of civil torts(such as dissemination of trade secrets, libel or defamation of character),criminal actions, or as part of a clearly publicized school or workplacepolicy, it is legal to access private e-mails. E-mails can be particularlyvaluable sources of information, given the fact that people are generally lessguarded with their language and more apt to share incriminating informationthan they might be otherwise.Hacking, defined as breaking througha security barrier without permission to access data, is both unethical andillegal if not used for legitimate civil or law enforcement purposes. There areseveral different methods of accessing someone’s e-mail — hackers have evenposted videos on the Internet describing how to do it. Some computer softwareprograms will run infinite combinations in attempting to obtain a user’s e-mailpassword; more common is for an individual to try to guess the password of anacquaintance.It is also possible to gain accessto private e-mails or Web pages via interception of information routed acrossthe Internet. This may or may not be considered a criminal act, since thepublic Internet is an unsecured forum. Another method of gaining access toseemingly private e-mails or Web pages visited is to open the pages or programson a computer when the prior user did not log out. While this is inappropriate,it is probably not illegal; there is no expectation of privacy if theinformation was left for public access.Most would agree that using hackingtechniques to break into the e-mail or private social networking page ofanother person (for example a former or current romantic partner, adult childor new beau) is wrong. To some, these actions may seem innocent — you may bejust trying to gather information or playing a prank by resetting a friend’spassword. No matter your intent, however, you may be in violation of state orfederal law. It is important to remember that ignorance of the law is nodefense. You can still be held liable regardless of whether or not you thoughtyour actions were criminal.Deleting Does Not Erase the EvidenceEven if you clear your Internet historyor delete any documents you compiled, there is probably still evidence ofhacking on your computer. Through the process of computer-hacking forensicsinvestigation (commonly known as “cyberhacking”), experts can dig deep into thecontent of your computer and locate incriminating evidence. These types ofinvestigations can be done in both civil cases (particularly business-relatedcases) and criminal cases (by law enforcement agencies, the military, andhomeland-security or business-security specialists). While these investigationsare expensive and time consuming, they are becoming more common.Another method for gatheringevidence of computer hacking is the process of keystroke logging. This methodinvolves tracing and recording user keystrokes through hardware or a softwareprogram. These programs can be remotely installed and are, unfortunately, alsoused by scammers to discover sensitive personal and financial information.It is important to remember that,particularly where the hacking involves social networking sites, that theperson whose account was invaded often will discover the culprit. For instance,the hacker will brag to friends about the event, and someone will spill thebeans and inform on the guilty party.What Happens Next? Not only does electronic snoopinghave possible civil and criminal consequences, it causes a serious headache forthe person whose account was violated. While new e-mail accounts can be set upquickly, updating contact information with friends, family and businesses canbe time-consuming. Furthermore, cancelling social networking accounts andestablishing new ones could possibly take weeks, not to mention the timeinvolved to try to prevent identity theft or internetfraud.Laws governing violations ofpersonal electronic information are constantly evolving. To learn more aboutcurrent laws and potential courses of action if you have been a victim orperpetrator of hacking, you should consult an attorney who has in-depthknowledge of this emerging area of the law.