IDEA: “E-Pol Networks”…The Taming of the Shrewd

I read an article two years ago claiming that in the year 2010 there will be two kinds of business: those who have an internet presence, and those who are going out of business. Although I do not agree with that assertion, I absolutely agree with its implication; we saw the atomic-like explosion of internet popularity in ‘Web 1.0’ (that is, before the dot-com bubble burst wide open), and the internet’s continued exponential growth currently in ‘Web 2.0-3.0’. Never has it been easier to own an internet presence. Less than ten bucks for a domain name, a nominal monthly hosting plan, and a (free) website, and you’re there! According to “Internet World Stats” (www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm), out of the 6.6 billion people in the world (in 2007), more than 1.3 billion are using the internet. North America has the highest penetration of the population, at over 70%! Wow! In North America, over 70% of the population uses the internet! Although Asia accounts for more than 56% of the total world’s population, the 2007 internet penetration estimate is less than 14% (which is still a larger number of internet users than North America: North America 238 million versus Asia with 510 million). These are some fascinating and staggering figures. I can only imagine what this year’s estimates will be. As any internet user knows, there are millions upon millions of online businesses (legitimates and not). You name it and you can find it online! In the future, there will surely still be physical, ‘brick-and-mortar’ businesses in the world that are not on the internet – absolutely – but it is evident that the bulk of the world’s economy will eventually be the internet, or whatever digital backbone follows it.

But we all know that the internet is gravely dangerous in so many ways. It is the modern day equivalent of the wild west of old. Yes, the digital age has brought us so many luxuries and conveniences, but it has also ushered in new venues for the decomposers of the world to operate, make huge money, and victimize people. There are millions of brilliant, cunning, clever, viscously shrewd “sharks” in the vast ocean of the digital ethers. There is spyware that exposes the data in your personal system, countless money scams and schemes, hackers robbing business of valuable customer data, chat rooms where people hide in the shadows watching for their prey, child pornographers, and so much more! I cannot begin to describe the “invisible” pitfalls of the internet.

So how do we protect our businesses, our homes, our children, and ourselves in the digital age? This question is continually debated, and debated, and debated some more. In the interim, there is little change. Collectively, people are not willing to trade some measure of privacy for the desired security of personalization. Even so, it is my belief that in the arena of e-security, cyber terrorism, and other internet crimes, we patrons of the internet are reactive instead of proactive in the fight against the shrewd e-beasts, e-terrorists, and e-criminals. The time has come to implement drastic changes, regulations, and therefore proactive protections.

So finally I get to the point. My IDEA is this: an “E-Pol Network”. The idea has three parts: 1) funding the E-Pol Network, 2) the structure and composition of the E-Pol Network, and 3) the challenges that must be overcome from inside and outside the network. By the way, my assumption is that the US would take the lead in this endeavor as a model for other countries.

Part One: First I must talk about funding the E-Pol Network; otherwise the idea has no feasibility. The only way I can see to “police” (for lack of a better term) the internet is through an “e-tax”. We must convince all internet businesses that it is in their best interest to support the E-Pol Network by paying a small tax, based upon their gross revenue. This pool of money funds the E-Pol Network, and is perhaps supported by some federal and/or state funds as well. Certainly there are intrinsic challenges with the funding piece of the idea (see Part 3 below).

Part Two: What exactly is an E-Pol Network? It is a network of e-pol (or e-police) “pods” that oversee and investigate internet usage within their respective region, according to an umbrella of policies and procedures that governs the entire network. So, imagine that each state is divided on an imaginary map into regions, according to population. Each region would have one e-pol pod ‘to protect and serve’ that e-community. One e-pol pod is simply one office of internet police that are watching a region. Obviously, then, each e-pol pod is part of the E-Pol Network. The “umbrella policy” would set forth the mission, the goals or mandates, and the overall procedures by which the network operates and would evolve as the system grows. The central mission of the E-Pol Network is to proactively “catch” e-crimes and e-criminals that make the internet so dangerous. The E-Pol Network would work in conjunction with the police, the Criminal Justice System as a whole, and the international police as well. This basic concept has already been shown to be effective in catching some sexual predators who use the internet as their playground, but it must be expanded to include all forms of e-crime. Again, there are challenges to overcome with this piece (see Part 3 below).

Part Three: What are some of the challenges and problems with the concept of the E-Pol Network? Perhaps at the top of the list is privacy. We are all concerned with the Orwellian idea that ‘Big Brother’ is watching, invading our personal freedoms or rights. Even though inherently within the E-Pol Network there must be some degree of privacy invasion, my belief is that the benefits outweigh the risks. Then too, if you have nothing to hide, you have no worries, except that the E-Pol Network itself might become corrupted. Which brings me to the point of E-Pol Network integrity. An oversight committee might have to be mandated. My hope is that there is a way to build and maintain the honesty of the E-Pol Network. Further, there is the matter of the e-tax funding, its parameters, and its distribution, etc. Heck, I’ll leave that one to the experts and my readers. And of course there is the issue of the policies and guidelines of the E-Pol Network. As I have stated, the central mission is fighting online criminals and crimes. Beyond that, let’s discuss it! There are a host of challenges that would come with this conceptual territory.

This idea is intended as the footings of the foundation of a structure built to protect us from the online universe. I do not claim that it is the answer to all related matters, nor do I profess to know or fully comprehend those issues. I do know that something tangible must be done now to kill the outrageous virus of e-crime.

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