Experts have been screaming about internet safety and the potential perils of cyber space for some time now. A recent case of a man in America, who took information from Facebook profiles and then hacked into women’s email accounts, highlights the dangers that are out there in virtual world.

The most shocking thing about this case is how easy it was for George Bronk to invade the private lives of these women. He simply scanned women’s Facebook accounts looking for those who posted their email addresses. He would then study their Facebook postings to learn the answers to common security questions such their favorite colour or father’s middle name.

Next he contacted their email providers and used the information to take control of their accounts. He also often gained control of their Facebook accounts by seizing their passwords, and then posted compromising photographs on their Facebook pages and other internet sites.

Once George Bronk had hacked into several women’s email accounts he trawled them for nude photos or videos. When he found them he sent them to everyone one on the women’s contact list. In doing so he made their very private and intimate photos very public.

Bronk even went as far as bullying one woman into sending him more explicit photographs of herself by threatening to distribute the pictures he already had. One victim told authorities the intrusion felt like “virtual rape”.

He pleaded guilty to seven felonies in Sacramento County Superior Court, including computer intrusion, false impersonation and possession of child pornography. He will be sentenced on March 10.

“This case highlights the fact that anyone with an email account is vulnerable to identity theft,” said Attorney-General Kamala Harris.

One woman said “I have a network of like 1500 people, so they all saw my pictures. So my graduating class of 2007 saw that.”

She then used a different email account and asked her hacker ‘Why are you doing this?’ and he said, ‘Because it’s funny,'” she said in a telephone interview.

Another woman said she felt violated, “kind of a rape-like situation”.

The California Attorney-General’s office advised those using email and social networking sites to pick security questions and answers that are not posted on public sites, or to add numbers or other characters to common security answers.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald