Cybersecurity, Technology, and Society
Free Write Week 1: My name is Jeremy James, I’m from Chesapeake VA, I’m a freshmen in college, and my major is Cyber-Security. My future goals are to be in the government. Some hobbies include Shows and Video Games.
Free Write Week 2: The Three Jobs I chose are, Application Support Analysis, IT Desktop Support Technician, IT Help Technician PPS, For the first job I only need a high school degree, for the second job I only need Three years of experience in any job, and for the third job I need Experience in the IT field, To achieve these I would work in the first job for 3 years, and then I can move to the second or third job if its needed!
Free Write Week 3:
If I was a policy maker, I would obligate companies with more than 20 employees to implement a minimum set of cybersecurity requirements. Cyber awareness would be a very important policy for my company so that it would protect my data and help from being compromised. A lot of people these days don’t know how to protect themselves from scams. It would be easy to let them know to watch out for email scams and not fall for these scams. Training would also be important. All company employees should have basic training in how to protect themselves and to know when something looks off. This way things are safe and can be used efficiently. Education would also be very important to my employees because if they know all the basics of a computer, they’ll be able to do their job with more ease. This will allow employees to know the fundamentals of computer functions and could potentially help protect them from additional risks. I also believe that while not as important as the rest, knowing how to use technology is also equally important because then employees will have the skill of flexibility when working together and will encourage a healthy and efficient workplace for everyone. I think these requirements are necessary to have a great work environment and to be safe with your technology. I would also enforce fines if these rules were not followed, they wouldn’t be too severe but 5-10$ just to make sure people get all the information that is needed. If they still don’t listen, then it will compile the fine until they learn the necessary things. This in my opinion would be the most efficient and best way to enforce my policies!
Free Write Week 4:
If there was a disastrous cyber attack similar or worse than the case studies, what would be affected by the attack and how? And is it possible that it could have been prevented and in what way? A worse cyber attack would be based off on a nuclear facility.
The Nuclear Systems in the plant would be what would be affected. The way this would play off is someone would have to insert the program into the nuclear facility, and have it watch all the systems in the nuclear facility. Then after the program is able to mimic what goes on it could potentially destroy things in the facility and mask the errors with programming.
Something similar happened to this in the middle east and people think it was either the Americans or Israeli to stop potential nuclear progress. This can be especially catastrophic in the wrong hands though. Imagine a nuclear melt down to the scale of Chernobyl in America. This would affect everyone in the east and west coast and could potentially kill thousands.
This is a very serious threat and there needs to be a lot of protections in place incase something like this happens by the hands of a hacker or terrorist organization. A way to prevent these things from happening is with nuclear facilities having older technology. The older the technology the harder it is to hack in. Have floppy keys for everything and then the only way to access the plant is manually which can be protected by armed guards. This in my opinion would be the best way to prevent this and stop another disastrous cyber-attack from happening.
Weekly Free Write 5:
If I was interviewing people for an information security officer position, 5 questions I would want to ask potential candidates are, “What is your experience in information security?” This question is very important because we need to know what the persons experience is in this field. It wouldn’t be wise to have someone who isn’t experienced. The response I’d like to receive would be one that is decently well informed on cyber aspects but also flexible in different fields so that they would become a good employee.
The second question I would ask, “Are you experienced in working in group efforts?” This is also a very important question because the person that gets the job would have to be able to work with their co-workers very easily. If the person is completely isolated and doesn’t know how to socialize and compromise it will create a hostile work environment in which work might not get done fast or efficiently. The answer I would require would be that they are experienced and hopefully socially as well!
The third question I would ask, “If you were the head of Information Security, how would you handle your team and their projects?” I believe that the person should be able to know what is needed to be successful with project management and also know what their team needs to make it as successful as possible. The answer to this would be different from each person but hopefully it’s a long the lines of what I said above, and they understand all the functions needed to hold the position.
The fourth question would be what they knew about our company, it is completely necessary to do research on the company you have an interview with. This lets us know that you are well informed and take initiative on your own. I would expect the person being interviewed to know the important facts about the company, as a response to my question.
And my Fifth and final question would be a question of their character. The person I would want to hire needs to have certain qualities needed to be a successful employee. I would organize them into a few categories that are necessary; Well informed on the company, a comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity and protection, able to work well with others, truthful and a diligent worker. If their response is similar to that I would be happy enough to hire them if they aced all the previous questions!
Weekly Free Write: 6
C – Create Cyber Apps
Y- Your own coding applications
B – Bring your ideas to meetings
E – E-Portfolio for stocks
R – Real estate
S – Security for data
E – Electronic Banking Application
C – Cyber Consulting Firm
U – Utility application security
R – Retail customer data security
I – Intelligence gathering
T – Technology Website Design
Y – Your personal code teacher.
If I had to chose one of these ideas, I would choose creating cyber applications because its useful and profitable. The Purpose of Cyber Security applications would be to help customers keep peace of mind while browsing their phones. This application could be a VPN or even a firewall to protect your own data. An application like this is incredibly useful because everyone needs safe and encrypted data. There are far too many hackers and cyber threats in the world to go unprotected.
My goal in this business would be to develop an idea such as a VPN and finally act on this idea so that everyone can benefit from my application. Another goal would to be very successful and get money from my application to help sustain my potential business. My customers could be anyone! Younger people need encrypted data and even older folks need encrypted data so that people don’t use their own personal and important information against them.
How I would make money is develop this successful app with a useful and intelligent team and then put it in the app store for a cost, or even free if I implement ads to further fund my application. It wouldn’t cost too much to make this business either since app stores are rather cheap if it at all charges you.
Finally, I would sustain this application with all the money it makes from Ad Revenue and purchases making this business plan a lasting and effective business plan! This would allow safe and encrypted data for anyone who wants to use my application and will also protect my own personal data. The world is growing and with the peace of mind of my information being safe it would make me worry less since all of my information is on my phone or on my computer like many people.
Word count 364:
Weekly Free Write 7:
If I were the CEO of a company, I would make everyone know that it is a safe work environment and that they could trust me. I would be nice to all my people and encourage them to do good work and award them if they did good work. Our work would be our main concern.
I would have everyone have secure work accounts. This is important because we don’t want our company data to be leaked and sold off to other companies. To Stop this, I would have a two-step phone authentication similar to what we have at ODU where when people access their accounts its either emailed to them or sent to their phone to allow them to enter the account. This is paramount to safety and would help accomplish the first and very most important step of any business; safety. I would promote use of this system because my employees trust me, and if I use it, they will also use it, however it will be required to use it and people will be punished if they don’t have secure data and go through all the necessary steps. You can also entice the workers with promotions if they do a good job and they will be a staple person for all other employees and will want to do their best to also get promoted.
Lastly, I would have it so that employees will get penalized if they don’t follow rules this is important because we can’t risk having cybersecurity breaches with company data. Employees having strong passwords, secured systems and two step authentications would keep everyone safe and happy. I would also require that employees change their password every 2 weeks to keep it new and fresh. I would keep my employees happy and that’s how I would run my company if I was the CEO!
Weekly Free Write 8:
I think that people treasure their personal data in the online space more than their physical property. The reason why is because people’s lives are on the internet these days. Most individuals have all their passwords on their phone or even on their computer. This is pretty reckless for most people because there are a lot of hackers that can compromise your data. This also allows for easy Identity theft. A lot of people also have their bank information and credit cards on their phone. And one of the craziest things in my opinion is that you can see all passwords in the internet browser by going to settings autofill passwords and it will have every password ever saved, and for a lot of older people and younger people that aren’t as tech savvy they might take advantage of that option and once hacked all their information is theirs. These reasons are why I think people in general value their personal data more than their physical property.
A strategy one can take to make users more protective of their cyber privacy and aware of possible data breaches and violations are having users have physical copies of their password and bank information instead of having a copy of it online. This can help reduce the destruction hackers can have on one’s life because they won’t have access to everything right from the beginning. I think having a VPN and firewall is crucial on any computer for safety, A good VPN I use is Nord VPN, and a decent firewall one can use is Norton Firewall Virus Protection. This will allow for peace of mind and knowing that your data online can be protected. Another good reason to stop breaches and other violations is having people be educated on what viruses might look like and how one could get them, Ads are a possible way to get viruses so I think every individual should have Ad Block on their computer. This program is free convenient and can help you protect your data by not clicking on ads and possibly installing a virus. Finally, I think all people should have multiple passwords for multiple accounts. Every single password I have is unique and different from the other – most not having actual words in them to ensure more personal security. Have it be at least 15 characters, include a minimum of two numbers, and a special key such as (!) or ($). Having done all these steps and precautions users can protect their privacy and data and allow for a safe browsing experience.
Weekly Free Write 9:
There are many Benefits and downsides of having a VPN, they used for a lot of things and more importantly to secure one’s personal data. In todays society your online presence is everything, having the peace of mind to do what you want with security is a luxury not everyone knows they need. Having a VPN is the first step to this luxury and people need to know their benefit and their downsides to know if using a VPN is for them.
The first reason I have is, is the most important and that’s Privacy. You’ll want privacy when doing your searches and downloads online. Having your IP address visible can reveal important information such as where you live and the language you speak. Another reason is Security. A VPN encrypts the traffic between your devices, so it allows you to have safety and stop others from budding into your personal business. Another reason is to stop Throttling. You can use a VPN to bypass internet companies throttling and allow you to be at the internet speed you pay for. Another reason is Censorship. In places where your every move is scrutinized having your own thoughts and expressions is very important. While VPNs are important, they also have their disadvantages.
Some cons are not all VPNS are all in one security options, so you think you’re safe when you’re actually not. It depends on what VPN you have and its effectiveness. VPN also won’t unblock every website, so it won’t be as useful for you if you want to use it for that reason. And a very serious con is they are illegal in some countries so you can get yourself in big trouble in countries like Russia and China. VPNS can also be difficult to use and set up so for people who aren’t as tech savvy using a VPN can be a hinder to them. While VPNS also have the option to stop throttling depending on which you have, it can also slow down the current internets that you have and slow the speed down overall. So, before you get your VPN make sure to research what it is, you’re really getting!
Weekly free write 10
Gender: Male
Age: 39
Country of origin/Residence: United States
(Money)
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Country: Mexico/America
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Country: America
Gender: Male
Age: 41
Country: America
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Country: America
Gender: Male
Age: 34
Country: America
Gender: Male
Age: 40
Country: America
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Country: America
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Country: America
Gender: Male
Age: 52
Country: America
There is a big pattern to all of them, they are all Males living in America, age 28-52, This indicates that there is a pattern of crime throughout intellectual property cases within America, this leads me to believe that cyber security issues are more severe in these places then in other countries. These patterns are corresponding to each other and seems to show that people within this age group are most likely to commit these crimes.
Week 11 free write
In my opinion, this isn’t considered cyberwar, I feel like this term is being used too lightly in this scenario and it should only be used for situations with the utmost need. An example of cyberwar, in my opinion, is when countries are fighting each other by hacking each other and providing others information/secure data. Something like an advertisement for a presidential election doesn’t seem as severe as something others might believe is cyberwar. Sure, it might not please everyone’s opinion when it comes to this advert, but it doesn’t directly affect anyone as far as living day today. So, no I personally believe that this does not constitute cyberwar. As far as the ethical, political, and business ramifications of actually calling it cyberwar, I feel like it lessens the definition of something thought as severe. While this is Political propaganda, I don’t believe that it’s so severe and mind-altering that it will actually change anyone’s opinions especially when it comes to politics. As far as a business ramification of calling it cyberwar I believe that it could possibly make it seem that all future elections would be cyberwar. Even advertisements, in general, could be seen as cyberwar in a distorted view. If something like this would fall under those examples wouldn’t our definition of Superbowl ads be different as well? I just feel like when it comes to something as severe as this. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. As far as an ethical viewpoint goes I could understand it bothering one side of the spectrum as far as the other, I’m in the middle with my political views so this doesn’t affect me one way or another, however others it could cause ethical issues possibly, but even then it wouldn’t be as significant as to call it cyberwar in my opinion.
Midterm Assignment: https://app.animaker.com/video?e=18M5NALVLNYCY2AB The steps we took to stay productive during this assignment was firstly getting in touch with each other, and then communicating what roles each of us wanted to do then which research each person in the group would do. It was an effective strategy and helped us greatly. Our group leader allowed us all to work with each other easily utilizing discord as a means for us to communicate easily. While doing research everyone did their job efficiently and let each other know what sources we worked on. This was helpful too because it also gave us different ideas on what to do and inspired us to different types of sources as well. The main steps were simply getting in touch and splitting all the work because once we all had our objectives and what we needed to accomplish we were able to knock out the assignment super fast because we were able to pool in all the work that we learned and make a strong video for our objectives. Everyone worked together nicely despite the hurdle of working together in a online class!
Week 12 free write
I think that the biggest cyber security risk in 2040 will be hackers who are able to tamper with nuclear reactors. There was an event in history where the United States and Israel supposedly instilled a virus in a nuclear plant that destroyed parts of the reactor to hinder Iran’s nuclear program. This event was called Stuxnet and it specifically targeted programmable logic controls that made the machine think that everything was okay, but in fact it was getting destroyed, but no one knew. This while controlled by the US and Israel had no real threat to the world. But what if other countries did the same? I imagine in 2040 Nuclear plants will be very advanced and possibly will allow for more exploits when it comes to hacking their programs.
I would advise national and supranational policy makers to be prepared for this because what if another country focused on destroying a nuclear reactor? It could be a remix of the Chernobyl incident. This in my opinion would be the biggest threat to national security in the future.
A specific strategy we could implement would be to possibly ban the use of Nuclear reactors in countries, if this dangerous power is gone it could create a safer world for everyone and would encourage the denuclearization of the worlds arsenals and stop nuclear war from even occurring.
Weekly free Write: 13
The case of social engineering I used was a case in Shark Tank, 2020, The Judge Barbara Corcoran was tricked in a 400,000 phishing and social engineering scam in 2020, the scammer who was a cybercriminal impersonated her assistant and sent an email to the bookkeeper requesting a renewal payment that was related to one of her real estate investments. He used an email that was quite similar to the legitimate one. The fraud was only discovered after the email was sent to the correct address asking for the money.
The psychological mechanism used to manipulate the user was by using work business information and pretending to be someone who the cybercriminal wasn’t. By using a similar email, he was able to get her to believe that he was in fact the person he was pretending to be. In a way he got In her head and was able to accomplish the goal he was after because of the situation and scenario he created.
The person who benefited from this manipulation was the cyber criminal he was able to get a lot of money for free and illegally. This only benefits him because he’s stealing the money from Barbara Corcoran.
The consequences from the manipulation for the user was that he got caught for his actions and will be reprehended from it.
A prevention mechanism that would have protected Judge Barbara Corcoran was if she took more care on her transactions and had official people take care of it for her. If she had someone who’s job was to make sure the emails and transactions went smoothly it could have been prevented.