Cyber security speaker cautions about evils lurking online | Livingston/Tangipahoa

The introduction of the internet several decades ago came with the tremendous promise of a new era of communications that could bring people and businesses together from around the world.

At the same time, the internet ushered in a new dark side that opened the door to the theft of everything from one’s money to their personal life in a way that was perhaps unseen when the web first became a part of almost everyone’s life.

The terms hacked and scammed became dreaded words. When personal computers and sophisticated computer systems run by large corporations and government entities were hacked, serious damage usually ensued.

Computer experts are working tirelessly to counteract the deeds of those who seek to profit using the internet in ways for which it was never intended.

Andres A. Calderon, a cybercrime professional, recently addressed a class at the Southeastern Livingston Center in Walker on how one can avoid becoming a victim of theft via the internet. His lecture, “Shining a Light on the Darkness of the Web,” was an extensive examination of how scammers find ways to steal from the unwary.

Calderon, an electrical engineer by training and an expert on computer and internet use, has been involved in cybersecurity research for more than 30 years. He teaches classes on the subject at LSU, Tulane University and for a national health care provider.

He opened the class by showing a random group of facial portraits and posed the question, “Are these people real or not?”

At first glance, the class members generally nodded their agreement that the faces were of real individuals. Calderon then showed the pictures again and pointed out subtle differences in each portrait that were giveaways to the fact that the pictures were not of real people but were generated using artificial intelligence.

He went on to show that subtle differences in a picture can determine whether or not the image is fake or real. For example, in a picture of a woman wearing glasses, the right frame of the glasses was different from the left frame.

He cautioned, “You just…