Describe three ways that computers have made the world safer and less safe.

Computers continue to make things easier and more efficient in our everyday lives and professional lives. Our security has increased overall, especially when it comes to storing personal information such as financial and medical records. Many of us started relying on online patient portal to access our medical records rather than having to request for physical copies. With online banking, we have access to all our transactions, bank statements, and are able to make payments online instead of driving to a bank or getting statements by mail. The ability to save documents and files is easier and safer rather than just physically storing them in the safest location possible. Physical documents can easily be stolen, while it will take a bit longer for criminals to gain access to them especially as security continues to increase. Storing documents digitally also provides excellent backup because if a physical copy is lost, another copy can be made by accessing it on the computer. Services such as cloud services provide another form of backup because we can now access documents from any device with internet connection. This benefited us because hard drives can easily be misplaced. If it is misplaced, then our backup is lost. A drawback to storing files on computers is that there is always a possibility of someone accessing those files and compromising them. With the right login credentials, the criminal can have access. Therefore two-factor authentication was given an option for extra protection. For some sites, they do require two-factor authentication to be activated. This is a multi-factor authentication method that prompts the user to verify their login after typing in the username and password. For example, when I log into my health insurance account, I get a code sent my phone through text messages. Then I must type in the code.

How do engineers make cyber networks safer?

              With computers, we can investigate crimes in a timelier manner. Computers can keep data, meaning that every activity is recorded, such as transactions, communications, and locations can be tracked easily. Every one of these data collected can provide more thorough reporting in investigations. Criminals are also at an advantage, however. Cyber attacks can happen in any range; a cyber criminal can attack a target from another country, for example. Foreign crimes often occur through computers. There have also been situations where a company is targeted by a cybercriminal, and it often occurs in small businesses because they often underestimate their security and the value of the information they keep.

              The first priority in making cyber networks safer is to, not search for potential threats, but to plan and prepare before the cyber event takes place. Engineers do this by knowing where they keep their information and to understand the value of them. Any incidents that occur must be recorded for future preparation.