Hailey Caram

We have many misconceptions about cybersecurity.  Here, hackers tell you about some of our misconceptions. What personal misconceptions did you have before you started to study cybersecurity? Have those been proven right or wrong?

Before I joined the Navy to become a cybersecurity analyst, I had no idea what to expect. I took a computer science class previously and all we did was learn to code, combining that experience with what you see about typical hackers in the media was my only idea about what people in the cyber realm did. Never could I have imagined how diverse and widespread the field is. 

I think one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding cybersecurity is the idea that cybersecurity is only hacking into computer systems. I found this idea to be very wrong as I have experienced many, diverse aspects of cybersecurity such as defensive analysis, cloud security, and digital forensics. 

Another misconception I had (once again due to movies and tv shows) was the idea that hacking looks like hundreds of little windows flashing all over your screen and scrambling to type. This was also proven to be wrong and is actually nothing like that. Although I have only done hacking in a learning environment, it never looked how it did on the television screen. My experience was methodical and followed steps to ensure that everything was being done correctly, left no evidence behind, and conducted a cleanup afterwards. 

One last misconception I had was that large companies were the main target for cyber attacks. The reality of this is that a majority of breachers are conducted against small businesses (Washington Technology Solutions, n.d.). After gaining experience it cybersecurity it makes sense because small businesses can be considered low-hanging fruit for hackers that are looking to make money or work their way up the chain. 

Most of my misconceptions surrounding cybersecurity proved to be wrong, making it a field that is much more than what it appears to be on the surface. Cybersecurity is more than just hacking and a having a screen full of complex code, it is a diverse line of work that is constantly evolving and expanding. 

References

Washington Technology Solutions. (n.d.). Cyber myths – and reality. WaTech. Retrieved June 28, 2025, from https://watech.wa.gov/ocs/news/cyber-myths-and-reality