We should continue our approach in the development of cyber-policy and cyber-infrastructure. It can be difficult to make the correct policies regarding our current situation. But we shouldn’t let these challenges stop us from continuing. Certainly, having the “short arm” of predictive knowledge does not make things easier. In order to handle these new cybercrime cases, we need to have a foundation of proper rules and laws created. Currently, we are running on fumes as we are lacking on cybercrime legislation. 

However, I think it’s important to value privacy for ourselves and others. It is understandable that internet crimes happen because of our online freedom and granted privacy. Our personal information is important to protect, who is able to access and use this information should be regulated. Countless companies have taken advantage of their customers’ personal information. In the European Union, they have the General Data Protection Regulation. The EU’s GDPR is extremely strict but I think they are off to a good, solid start. We should use the GDPR as a base for our new regulations. Moreover, I think we need to start regulating the internet but only in situations where it is needed. For instance, we can try to remove harmful content. This idea does clash a bit with freedom of speech. But we shouldn’t allow hate speech to find its place on the internet. If we can remove harmful or hateful speech, we should. 

Election integrity is another important priority. We should push big businesses like Facebook to be honest about how they utilize their political advertisements. There was a controversy involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica back in 2018. These targeted political advertisements had a major impact on its audience. There should be rules made for political advertisements. The lack of rules and regulations on these advertisements caused a great amount of misinformation.

Cyber technology heavily impacts the interactions between offenders and victims. A few examples of offenders using cyber technology to hurt others are cyber fraud, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and cyberterrorism. Due to social media, it is extremely easy for cyberbullying and cyberstalking to happen. On platforms such as Instagram, one can just send a simple direct message to their target. The target can deny the message but it is still going to be visible. They can still see what the message is. As a result, cases of cyberbullying and cyberstalking have gone up. Types of cyberbullying include verbal aggression, outing, and masquerading. Additionally, it can be harder to find the perpetrator in cyberbullying and cyberstalking cases since they can be anonymous. The offenders’ ability to be anonymous is an example of an impact of cyber technology. Technology makes these interactions easier and more convenient for the offender. There isn’t much effort involved as one can simply type whatever they want to say. Distance isn’t a factor in this situation as the offender can be anywhere in the world. 

Cyber fraud is a big issue as well. Offenders usually lie to their victims to steal and gain from them. It can be an easy act to commit since there isn’t any physical contact or force required. Cyber fraud includes internet fraud, email fraud and scams, romance scams, Nigerian fraud, etc. In the past, romance scams were one of the biggest kinds of fraud. When Instagram was still new, numerous people took advantage of their ability to catfish. Through catfishing, these criminals were able to scam people. Cyber fraud doesn’t just affect the United States but also the entire world. In cyber fraud, anybody can be a victim. This is another impact of cyber technology as there isn’t a limit to the victims. More than one person can be affected if they fall for a scam.

Cybercrime is on the rise leading to more cases being created. More and more crimes that are usually done in real life are being committed online. For instance, cybercriminals can commit acts like theft and harassment virtually. As a result, an overlap between the criminal justice system and cybercrime has been created. Cybersecurity-related legislation is only being introduced and passed now to deal with increasing cybercrime cases. Due to a lack of resources and references, there has been difficulty processing these cases. Law enforcement as well as policymakers are conflicted with how to address these growing issues. Cybercrime is extremely different from other forms of crime. Factors like the amount of damage and how much of a struggle it is to locate the offender are considered regarding cybercrime. 

New methods and techniques must be looked into when dealing with these types of cases. The United States has over fifty federal statutes concerning cybersecurity/cybercrime. However, the majority of these are outdated. Moreover, a growing amount of federal agencies are being made in response. A few examples include the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Cyber Crime Center. Our technology has become an important part of our lives since it is practically essential. The solution to this problem wouldn’t be to limit the Internet. But more regulation by the government is necessary.

This overlap relates to the other disciplines like psychology and economics. Cybercrime has led to people feeling its effects and consequences. For example, when the Equifax breach occurred, countless customers lost their trust in that branch. Many customers weren’t satisfied with how the situation was handled. Additionally, the economics discipline is affected since cybercrime cases frequently cause economic losses. In the Equifax breach, the settlement for it was up to $425 million dollars to help their affected customers.

Because of engineering, some of the greatest technological developments have been created. There are various branches and fields in engineering, specifically cyber networks. In network engineering, there are also several specializations like software engineering, system building, communications, and more. Engineers improve and help make cyber networks safer through network security. Network engineers design, create, and construct network infrastructure. When creating networks, network security plays a crucial role. Network security consists of security safeguards like VPNs and firewalls. Data backups are also regularly used. Some of their security-related responsibilities include implementing a virus detection system, looking into security breach alerts, and troubleshooting network problems. Network protocols like TCP/IP, DNS, and DHCP are usually used. Securing the networks’ infrastructure and its users are both a priority. Engineers have to be familiar with common cyber threats like viruses and zero-day attacks. 

Cybersecurity’s side that consists of industrial control systems is hidden since the focus is typically on the virtual side. Majority of the engineering systems used are complex. As a result, they are reliable and secure. Systems security engineering places importance on specific details like protection needs and security concerns. These systems are designed with a specific purpose in mind. For instance, SCADA systems are complex systems designed to control and observe large amounts of land. SCADA stands for supervisory control and data acquisition. SCADA refers to industrial control systems, also known as ICS. These types of systems are used to manage infrastructure processes, industrial processes, and facility-based processes. In these systems, factors like an apparatus, supervisory system, programmable logic controllers, and more are present. The past systems are called Monolithic: The First Generation and Distributed : The Second Generation. The current SCADA system we use is known as Networked: The Third Generation. SCADA can be vulnerable to cyber attacks but vendors have been working on an industrial VPN along with firewall solutions to resolve these issues.

As time passes, technology is only continuing to evolve and grow. In a way, it has become a crutch for us. We depend on technology and enjoy its convenience. There are countless ways that computers have made the world a better, safer place but also less safe. 

Our computers have helped improve and boost our communication. Before we had phones, miscommunication would always happen. For instance, communication is crucial in emergency response. Having this kind of instant communication certainly helps us in dangerous situations. 

Another way computers have made the world safer is our devices’ ability to share locations. Location sharing benefits our lives since it helps us check up on our loved ones. One feature of location sharing is we can choose who to share our location with. There is a similar concept where parents use parental control apps like Life 360 and Glympse. Moreover, this has helped parents keep their children safe along with maintaining their peace of mind. On the other hand, our devices’ ability to track each others’ locations can also be used to hurt others. There has been an increase in cyberstalking. As a result, this has made the world less safe. Some people have been tracked through AirTag. AirTags are used to keep track of valuables or small items like car keys. 

Social media has boosted our connectivity. With social media applications like Twitter and Instagram, we are constantly updated on each others’ lives. This has made the world safer but cyberstalking has increased because of social media. Social media gives us access to everybody. You can send messages, view and like old pictures. We have the ability to make our accounts private but sometimes even that isn’t enough. Another example is LinkedIn, which was created for job-seeking individuals to connect and increase productivity. But stalkers can typically find where their victims work through LinkedIn. 

Cyber hygiene is an important concept everybody should know and follow. Testing your computer should become a habit to make sure it is safe. Maintaining and protecting your devices’ health is crucial. There are a variety of ways to test your computer’s security. 

One way is to take a look at your computer’s setting. There are numerous security tools available online to help check your settings for any anomalies and problems. For instance, Microsoft has Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer for Windows and Office computers.This tool tests the user’s passwords and notifies them if they are using weak or disabled passwords. It also takes a look at your shared folder and account settings.  If you don’t use Windows or Office computers, there are alternatives like Open VAS and SolarWinds Network Security Tools with Engineer’s Toolset. 

The second way to tell your computer is safe is to regularly update your computer. To keep up with updates, one should always check if a new one has been released. This includes updating your browser plugins. Keeping your computer updated is essential to being safe. It prevents viruses as well as attacks. 

A third way to test your computer is to test your firewall. Your firewall is there to deter and prevent cyber attacks. However, it is important to check if it is working properly and to prevent any intruders. You can utilize port test services like PortTest to check if wrong ports are being used. There are also other firewall testing tools you can use like Nessus and Nmap. 

A fourth way is to actually delete files permanently. It’s surprising that deleting your files doesn’t actually mean they’re gone forever. They linger around your hard drive for a few days to weeks. You have to make sure that you check your hard drive once you delete sensitive files. Fortunately, there are file-recovery programs such as Recuva and Puran File Recovery, to verify if your files have actually been deleted. 

Cybersecurity programs are essential for businesses. There are various benefits as well as some costs associated with developing these programs. Businesses are expected to maintain and keep their systems secure. One of their goals should be to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information for their customers. Cyber attacks on businesses and organizations are surging every year especially small businesses. Small businesses have become a target due to their lack of budget for cybersecurity. 

There are several benefits that can come from creating a cybersecurity program. One of these benefits is that confidential information is better protected and secure. This means that the chances of a cyber attack happening are also lower. Another benefit is an increase in customer loyalty, satisfaction, and trust. If customers feel that their information is being handled properly, they will feel comfortable and become a regular customer. Trust plays a major role in the relationship between customers and businesses. Additionally, businesses who implement cybersecurity can potentially prevent revenue. Cyber attacks typically result in businesses having to pay off financial losses. 

On the other hand, there are also costs that come with making a cybersecurity program. One cost is that in order to create a quality cybersecurity program, a business should have an appropriate budget. Certainly, more money does not equal better security. However, one should also consider how much money should be spent. It’s best to not be stingy especially when confidential information is at stake. Majority of the costs surrounding cybersecurity are related to finances. Where these finances are spent should be carefully thought out. It’s important to have services like intrusion detection systems and data loss prevention. These systems generally require subscriptions. On top of that, annual employee awareness training is key. With that said, funding is a given. Money shouldn’t be spent on just one factor of cybersecurity. All factors should be considered.

Our advancing cyber technology has created numerous opportunities for workplace deviance. More and more organizations are starting to implement newer types of technology and devices around the workplace to make tasks more convenient and easy. Due to this new technology, it can be hard to identify any unusual or suspicious activity. As a result, this leaves a space for workplace deviance since there is a lack of monitoring. This enables these employees to act out and commit acts they usually wouldn’t do. They know they aren’t being watched and can do whatever they want. 

Workplace deviance is associated with white-collar crime. Additionally, there are some similarities between white-collar crime and cybercrime. A few of these similarities include their impact on businesses and customers, their conceptual ambiguity, and nature of their victimization. On the other hand, both have their differences. For instance, cybercrime tends to have a worldwide reach and focus. In this case, white-collar crime tends to happen in the workplace. There are two forms of white-collar cybercrime, which are legitimate white-collar cybercrime and entrepreneurial white-collar cybercrime. Legitimate white-collar cyber crimes are committed in actual white-collar jobs like finance or healthcare. Entrepreneurial white-collar cyber crimes are committed in illegitimate businesses. 

The Internet has provided us with opportunities for growth in business and social media. But this also has encouraged more criminals to turn to cybercrimes. This led to an increase on cybersecurity’s budget. In the past, attackers have targeted servers and workstations. Recently, they have been focusing more on applications and people. In 2017, 65% of attacks occurred in the entertainment industry, 9.4% in information while it was 7% in the healthcare industry. 

Well-known malware attacks like “WannaCry” and “Mirai” transpired because of their employee’s errors. These employees are given monthly cybersecurity awareness training yet still make the decision to procrastinate on updating their information systems. Enabling this behavior has become an issue along with the “remind me later” button. A few changes should be made like having a feedback system instead of training and choosing to set strong defaults.

Create cybersecurity training courses

Youtube videos about hacking

Buying stocks in cybersecurity

Employing penetration testers

Researching current vulnerabilities for companies

Security auditing

Ethical hacker

Creating an app that lists secure networks

Use AI to help fight cybercrime

Recovering data from digital devices

Insurance that protects business’ from data breaches

Threat hunter

Youtube videos about crypto ransomware

In the United States, there are numerous cybersecurity risks. Some of the biggest threats include phishing, malware, and ransomware. Phishing attacks have grown about 65% in the past year, there has been over $12 billion in damages. Everyday, phishing attacks are getting more and more advanced. Malware is another big factor because they typically infect devices through website downloads, spam email or by connecting to other infected devices. Ransomware is a form of malware, it prevents the user fro accessing their device and demands them to pay a ransom. Ransomware is becoming more common as there have been 246 attacks in the past three years. Ransomware attacks have usually been on industries like education, healthcare, and retail. In May 2017, a crypto ransomware attack called WannaCry hit Microsoft Windows computers. It encrypted data and demanded payment from its target in the form of Bitcoin. As a result, around 230,000 computers were affected.

In Italy, there have also been an abundance of cybersecurity risks along with cybercrime. In 2021, Italy was listed as the fourth country facing malware attacks with a record of about 28,208,577 attacks. These attacks are frequently ransomware attacks. Around 60% of businesses and organization have been hit with a ransomware attack in 2022. On the other hand, only 6% of Italian organizations paid the ransom. The average cost of a ransomware attack is around $680,000. In March 2021, Boggi Milano, a luxury Italian menswear brand, faced a ransomware attack. Through this attack, 40 gigabytes of data was collected. This included files regarding human resources and salary information. Five months later, another ransomware attack was thrown at Lazio, Italy. This affected Lazio’s IT systems, along with their COVID-19 vaccination registration website. This disrupted almost every file in the data center. Users were unable to book an appointment until the situation was resolved.