Right now the world is in a state of change; a metamorphosis if you will. Just as the ugly caterpillar crawls into its cocoon and emerges as a majestic butterfly, the business world is in a transition.  Right now, the economy has taken a turn for the worst, and is scaring even the highest echelons of society. Globalization has always helped spur the economy back to health by expanding business into other regions, but it is not easy. Different countries have different rules and regulations than does the U.S., and sometimes these fall into conflict.

Privacy laws are a prime example. In the U.S., privacy laws are stringent for the public, and many services are available to bolster your defenses even more. In other, less-than-democratic countries, the words “private proxy” or “anonymous IP changer” probably aren’t even in the local vernacular. One specific paragon of this would be online banking. In America, no expense is spared to ensure digital privacy. Everything you can think of; encryption, anti-identity theft, and the use of secure tunnels makes all transactions virtually impenetrable. In other countries, proxies and other privacy software are frowned upon and oftentimes blocked by the government. These places, in their attempts to delete all of their citizen’s privacy so they can be more easily monitored, actually place them at higher risk for online crimes.

Such is the zeitgeist of many countries. The word “privacy” in Mandarin, loosely translates to “shameful secret”; you can see how some look upon privacy and the desire for it. Polls show that only about half of all Chinese believe privacy is a self-right and should be respected, while more than ninety-percent of Americans believe it is a virtue. It’s not only the Chinese though, as Indians are often not concerned with privacy at all either. They just passed their first digital privacy laws recently, and this was really only due to UN pressure. It is a matter of culture; these collectivist societies are used to sharing everything.

While this is a idyllic was of living, the truth is, it’s dangerous. Online criminals and identity thieves prey on these places because they know defenses will be very relaxed or virtually inexistent. These deviants know that many Americans use proxies, IP changers, and hackers have run the gamut on trying to break through their security systems. So they turn to the people that have no desire for privacy and are often uneducated about how to protect themselves online.

Another thing to consider in their nonchalant attitude towards privacy is the irony of government censorship. The Chinese view privacy as a shameful thing, yet the “Great Firewall of China” blocks nearly every site the Chinese wish to go on. Some will not stand for this, and do not believe the “shameful secret” philosophy. Many Chinese use change IP proxy servers to change their IP address and get past the government censorship. They also wish to be exempt from the constant monitoring. The IP changer can throw the government off, which tracks by IP address, and stop their snooping. It seems that while some are disillusioned by local philosophy, others understand the importance of the “shameful secrets.”

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