Web 2.0 Professions....Ver 1.0

As I've mentioned before I am currently enrolled in a class whose main focus is Web 2.0 technologies and how businesses apply them. My instructor set up a series of in class guest lecturers. Last week was the first of the lecture sessions. The lecturers were experts in two very different fields. But both greatly affect Web 2.0 and the technologies that drive them. The experts were from the fields of Information Technology Security and Intellectual Property law.

The security engineer introduced the class to basics in the world of security, topics such as SQL injection attacks and other methods of attacking websites, how newer Web 2.0 technologies can introduce new ways to expose websites to attacks, and what methods could be used to protect your website. Other topics covered were the differences in protection schemes for Web 1.0 and 2.0 sites, how important it is to protect your information, and what various backgrounds security engineers have. There doesn't seem to be a traditional career path to become an information security engineer. All in all it was a very informative introduction to information security.

The Intellectual Property lawyer gave a very entertaining account of how the department she leads defends the credibility and reputation of the company she works for. When dealing with topics such as protecting your website by maintaining control of variations of the core url name, ensuring that consumers aren't unwittingly taken advantage of by scam artist who create websites that closely resemble the actual site, and protecting potential candidates for employment from individuals who claim they are hiring managers when they are really are lonely individuals looking for attention by portraying themselves as hiring managers so that they can attain personal information so they may contact them on a personal basis, as a lawyer you have to employ unique methods for engaging these issues. Once again it seems that when approaching issues of security and protection of data in an ever changing environment of Web 2.0 technologies, there doesn't seem to be a clear cut outline or approach. The internet has evolved and so must the technologist that protect it!