The world of information technology says goodbye to 2011 and ushers in the new year of 2012. So much has happened within the concluding year, and there are high hopes that the coming year will be even better. Lots of technological changes are expected, and analysts have predicted some of these in their own point of view. It seems that these major changes will be driven by these three: big data & analytics, security and cloud computing.

It is expected that the role of social media in big data and analytics will grow and widen. There is a possibility that, due to new data sources, more organizations will use these in order to create transformations. The end result would be the realization of more substantial benefits out of social networking. In 2011, the growth in the number of organizations using the social media command center was tremendous. In the next year, the number is expected to grow even more. This means that the usual use of marketing services agencies is slowly being taken over by the more advanced and more effective social media.

In the United States, the number of hospitals that are adopting electronic medical records is continuously increasing. In a study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, a surge in patient data breaches because of insufficient funding has also been posted. From 2010 to 2011 alone, there was a recorded 32% increase in data breach incidents. To ensure patient privacy, hospitals say that enough funding should be approved by the agency concerned.

The health care industry translates the cost of lost records to an estimated $6.5 billion in just the span of 1 year. Almost one-half of health organizations that were surveyed attributed these incidents to lost or stolen devices. There were 72 hospitals and health care providers that were surveyed, but the organizations were not named.

As the number of shoppers who visit retail stores increases, so do the incidents of identity theft and fraud. The risks are related to the use of credit cards, checks and identification documents. Experts warn those shoppers who use these personal information-containing instruments to take extra care. Identity thieves are just waiting for the right opportunity to steal your personal information or to commit fraud. The holiday season is the right time for them to heighten their activities because shoppers seem to be more excited than careful.

At least two regions in the United States have reported a very significant increase in identity crimes, most of which are data breaches. It is estimated that information stolen from companies costs more than $150 billion in the national scene. This is according to a report by LifeLock Consumer Education that covered the years from 2005 to 2010. One observer said that this is caused by the technology that is used by criminals, plus human error on the part of consumers.

Lawmakers are putting their heads together in updating the 1986 anti-hacking law mainly to make it attuned with the present state of online “culture”. The present provisions of the law penalizes even innocent web surfing. But those concerned with its amendment are very cautious because changing the penalties might let cybercriminals off the hook. Updating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act would be considering the civil liberties of users while seeing to it that violators are found.

The specific part of the law that calls for revision is the power of government to convict users who violate a website’s terms of service agreements. One professor at a law school aired his concern about the present state of the law. He argued that it threatens the civil liberties of Americans who innocently give false information on Facebook and online dating sites.

The professor, in a written testimony, gave some typical examples of how millions of users give false information. A user, he said, could be criminalized for writing in his profile that he goes to the gym every day when in reality, he only goes there once a month. Or, he added, another user who gives false information about his height, weight or age, could be called a criminal. He mentioned that a study suggested that 8 out of 10 users give this type of false information in their profiles. Granting that this is accurate, there are millions of Americans out there who are cybercriminals.

You should know more about other phishing scams that you might come across so that you will be able to handle them well. Be careful of sites that try to convince you to send personal information if you are looking for a job online. These cyber criminals are working behind legal job sites just to improve their reputation. They also make use of familiar-looking logos and convincing language that could draw your interest. You will be surprised that the links that they use are leading to phony websites that only appear to be owned by legitimate companies.

Beware of sites that do not ask for personal information, but do charge you fees for services that they claim to offer. There have been victims of this kind of scam when they paid for services that actually do not exist. This kind of online scam is so effective that there is a constant increase in the number of related complaints. It is not easy to catch these criminals because they “close down” their business after a while and vanish.

Job hunters like you can stay safe if you remember these few tips. Keep private any personal information that is not related to work. A legitimate prospective employer would not ask for your social security number, date of birth, home address, etc. Only those that are up to no good would ask for these. It should also be a rule of thumb that you should never give out any of this information over the phone, through email, or by fax.

Legislators have presented a Congressional bill to the committee entitled “The Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011”. This has raised some concerns among privacy advocates who said that so far, this would be the biggest threat to civil liberties. They say that many people are prone to think that this legislation is timely and needed to address child pornography. This is expected because every person who is in their right mind should always abhor child pornography.

But why do privacy advocates seem to react negatively to the proposed law? It is because, when it’s thought about fully, such legislation would turn everyone who uses the internet into a victim. They contend that this law, if passed, would require all internet service providers (or ISPs) to track everything that a user does online and save it for 18 months. In addition to this, ISPs are supposed to store this information together with the user’s name, home address, bank account and credit card numbers, and their assigned IP address.

Smart phone owners have to deal with one of the newest security threats that are creating diverse reactions. Trevor Eckhart, a security researcher, posted a 17-minute video which gave details of some installed hidden software. The video showed that the software is able to log numerous details about most of the user’s activities. Particularly, the software known as Carrier IQ, logs all text messages, Google searches and phone numbers that are typed in by the user. After gathering this information, it is then reported to the mobile phone carrier. In addition to this, the software is able to log the web addresses of websites searched by the phone owner, even if he or she uses “https” URLs for encrypted data.

Most mobile devices today that operate on Android OS come with the software installed by default. Eckhart said that the user is not aware that it runs in the background and doing what it is programmed to do. But even if the user is aware of it, he or she can do nothing to stop it, added the researcher. He called the software a “rootkit”, one that can be found in malware.

Additional information was found about Carrier IQ when the researcher was able to get hold of the training materials posted on the software company’s website. He was thinking then that the company might take the files offline, so he copied the training materials. He was right because the files became unavailable right after he posted his analysis.

As Christmas draws nearer, parents are thinking which tech toys to give to their kids. They are busy studying their children’s wish lists that include smartphones, tablets, and computers. Parents will happily agree to purchase a tech toy, and then be satisfied as they watch their kids click or tap on their newest, prized possession. However, giving tech toys to children is just like giving them a bike. Parents will always pair the bike with a helmet for protection. Similarly, technology gifts should also come with protection.

It is sad to think that many parents do not realize the need to child-proof these devices. They do not fully understand that these gadgets open the world, by way of the web, to children. Parents should make sure that their kids do not happen upon the unpleasant side of the internet. In their young minds, kids cannot grasp the reality that there are lots of things online that are not meant for them.

Children need sufficient protection so that they do not open a Pandora’s Box with their new tech toys. Children might be bombarded with millions of x-rated web pages, violent videos, websites with alarming topics from gambling to guns, and many more. Parents should be prepared to deal with this problem and should look for software that could help filter the good from the bad.