Keeping the Internet Safe

Last week on the subway, I saw an unintentional but interesting social experiment. I was outside the turnstiles where you swipe your ticket to pay for your ride. Someone had left the emergency exit door wide open and there were no transit employees around. Here was a perfectly easy way to get a free ride off of the subway, but it would involve breaking a minor law.

As I watched my fellow New Yorkers scope each other out to figure out who would be the first to go through the door (because as we all know, it's not really breaking the law if it's done in a group), I walked over to the turnstiles and paid for my ride. Most people did the same thing as me, but finally, one person walked through the open door.

After that, everyone walked through the open door. After all, the door was left open.

One thing that surprises many of our customers at Junction Networks is that we have a policy of calling to verify financial information. We do this to protect ourselves, of course, but we also do it to protect our customers. With the anonymity of the Internet world, security is such a strong concern that every employee of Junction Networks is responsible for keeping an eye out. When we find stolen credit cards being used, we follow it up and alert the owners of the cards. We've helped people discover when they've been the victims of identity theft, which does make us feel good. We can't keep the baddies from stealing credit cards, but we can create at least one network where they can't use them.

We like to make sure our doors are locked - it's better for us, of course, but it also makes a better Internet.