Week 1: Why am I interested in cybersecurity technology?

Hello, my name is Jerquan Brabble and I am pursuing a Cybersecurity degree. Ever since I was in high school I have had an interest in Cybersecurity. All the school counties, specifically my school, Matoaca High, had a special program that rising freshmen could apply to called a specialty center. Each school had a different specialty center that one could apply to, Matoaca High, the school that I went to had a specialty for Information Technology. The advantages of being in the specialty center is taking classes with like-minded individuals alongside having exclusive access to many of the school’s numerous computer courses. At the time I was very interested in cybersecurity so, of course, I applied to the center and got accepted. There, I was able to take a number of classes to explore the many regions of computers. I learned about computer hardware, cybersecurity, information technology, data and systems, and even computer science. The program lasted throughout my entire high school career and was an invaluable experience. It was during a cybersecurity class that I came to the realization that cybersecurity was what I wanted to pursue. It was around the middle of the year and my teacher just introduced me to the concept of a CTF competition. It was picoCTF and I immediately fell in love with it. It is my personal belief that if you like to do something school-related more than you like to do your own personal hobbies then that is a good career fit for you. That is exactly the case when I tried out picoCTF. Knowing this I still applied to George Mason for computer science. Computer science was another field that I was interested in as it had numerous branching paths that one could go into for a work career. However, computer science did not work out for me and so I decided to transfer to ODU. I am here now at ODU and I’m pursuing what I originally wanted to do which is cybersecurity.

Week 2: Select four other majors offered by ODU and explain how those majors relate to cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity is a major that is mainly focused on the protection of computer information and computer systems. This being the case means that there are several majors that relate to cybersecurity in one way or another. One such case is of course Computer Science. Computer science is in massive demand because of the society that we live in where everyone is constantly using electronic devices. The main concept of computer science is essentially one needs to be creative enough to develop code that solves a problem. Computer Science is a major that requires a lot of creativity to create complex code to complete a task. That being said all, code needs the help of cybersecurity so that it can’t be easily breached or leaked. If computer science is the “secret formula to complete a task” then cybersecurity is the lock that can keep that “secret formula” safe. Building off the concept of being secretive there is of course the major of “Cybercrime” that we also offer. The Cybercrime major is essentially a more specialized version of Cybersecurity. Cybercrime is based on the sole principle of trying to gather evidence for criminal prosecution. This includes the study of forensics and can extend into federal jobs. Speaking of federal jobs, the “Cyber Operations” major has a lot of federal job opportunities that one can pursue once they finish their degree. Cyber Operations is essentially about the vast number of technologies that have been invented and are being utilized today. Cyber Operations is more focused on the hands-on side of Cybersecurity, whereas the Cybersecurity major is all about expanding your options and giving you space to do what you want to do in the field. Speaking of doing what you want there is of course the entrepreneur path that one can take. This leads me to talk about the major “E-Business and E-Commerce”. E-Business and E-Commerce is all about the intricacies of managing online businesses. This is an important set of skills in today’s market where things are becoming increasingly digital and online. This being the case means that there is of course a massive need for a decent and competent security system to protect the value of these items online as well as the consumer’s private information. This is why cybersecurity is needed for electronic businesses.

Week 3: 1. Describe four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individuals.

1. It’s unsafe because then the information can get exposed if a security breach happens.
2. It violates the privacy of each individual.
3. Data is constantly changing and as such will never be one hundred percent accurate.
4. Data can get destroyed during transfers which can lead to data inaccuracies.

Week 4: 1. Compare cybersecurity risks in the U.S. and another country.

The United States is a big country with many talented individuals that make many contributions to modern day society. However, the United States is also well known for being a place where a lot of cyberattacks originate. In a recent study done by a cybersecurity expert, it was found that the United States ranked thirty first when compared to seventy-four other countries on how many cyberattacks occur and how well their cybersecurity is. On that list is the country of Denmark which I want to talk about today. Denmark was listed as the most secure country in the world. The statistics show that they get close to nearly zero cyberattacks and have kept that statistics for over two years.

Week 5: 1. Use the letters of the word CYBERSECURITY to list legal ways to make money in cybersecurity. 

Create a custom security framework for a private contractor.

Yacht security improvement software

Be a soc analyst

Review a companies’ security and tell them how to improve it.

E-Business management

Sell stock

Encryption for a small business

Certifications that can lead to bigger jobs

Unique data management system that can be sold for money

Rent out domains to private contractor

Independent consultant

Training courses

YouTube channel management

Week 6: 1. How has cyber technology created opportunities for workplace deviance?

Technology is a wonderful tool that was invented to make people’s lives easier. However, we found a myriad of other uses for it. It can be used negatively and to cause harm to people. This is the subject that I wish to discuss. Cyber technology allows for people to monitor from afar and send messages from far away. However, this same technology can be utilized in order to cause workplace deviance. Workplace deviance is essentially any form of harassment or bullying that takes place in a work environment. So what a person could do is send text messages to a coworker that they don’t like. In a workplace environment it’s much easier to obtain cell phone numbers since group chats have become a modernized norm. Not to mention the possibility of emails. It would be extremely easy for a coworker to send a malicious email to their coworker in order to gain full control of their pc.There is also the possibility of hacking a coworker’s workspace. Say for instance you dont like somebody at work and you want to get them in trouble. You could hack their computer and put some NSFW content on there and report it. You could also place cameras around the workplace so that you could spy on them. If you could hack their station, however, you could also delay their progress by deleting their files and projects. You could also launch a ddos attack that could prevent them from doing their work. The problem is that most of these options are likely to put you in a position where getting fired is going to be the least of your worries. So if you just want to annoy someone you could just run a few harmless scripts that’ll open and close a program repeatedly, randomly cut off the wifi, and even change the key binds so that they constantly press the wrong keys.

Week 7: 1. What are the costs and benefits of developing cybersecurity programs in business?

Firstly, it’s important to understand why a business should consider getting a cybersecurity program in the first place. As a business they exist in order to provide a product to their consumers. This can be a good like food, clothing, and electronics. It can also be a service like website creation, banking, and cybersecurity. As such they have a valuable resource that they can provide to people in order to make money. A few examples of this are fast food places that sell food like McDonalds, burger king, and sonic. A few examples of goods are computers, shoes, and fruits. However, some people are in need of money, and they don’t want to work for it. So, they resort to stealing from the hard work of others. This means that businesses have to protect their product from other people that might want to steal their resources or subsequently the revenue that it generates. Now that this information is out of the way, there are costs that come with the service of developing cybersecurity programs. Depending on the type of business it is, the service can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand depending on the specific task. It is also important to note that it can cost an additional monthly payment in order to continue their services. There are several benefits and advantages to having cybersecurity programs in your business. The main one of course being that it can protect your product. Having a cybersecurity framework allows for easy expansion if you decide to expand your product. The main appeal of having a cybersecurity program developed in your business is that you know your product will be well protected. The main con of this is mostly the initial payment but after that it does cost much less to maintain monthly.

Week 8: 1. How can you tell if your computer is safe?

A very interesting question in my opinion. By default, can we really be certain that our computers are safe when we first obtain them from an outside source. Say for instance you go into a shop that sells electronic devices like Best Buy. If you purchase a premade PC or Laptop from a shop, it depends on the actual company that made the computer. If the computer was made by a reputable company that you trust and have used before then I would say yes it could be considered uncompromised. I’d also consider a freshly made computer safe if it’s created by your own hands and with components from companies that you trust. However if you buy a computer from a less than reputable source there is no guarantee that its going to come completely untampered with. Let’s get into the actual topic of how to know if your computer is compromised after you purchased it. The number one thing to look for is abnormalities. Most people dont discover that their computer is compromised until it’s too late. You want to first and foremost do a virus scan on the entire computer, it’s important to scan the entire computer to make sure you get any key malware that could be hiding. Next I’d look at task manager to see if theres anything suspicious. The main things to look out for here are programs that eat up your memory or your CPU and suspicious looking programs. If your computer starts to randomly overheat then it may be caused by malware. In that case you’d want to open up task manager and see what program is using up the majority of your cpu. Once you’ve identified it you should look it up because you may be able to find the root of the malware instead of just ending the program. This way you’ll be able to remove the malware completely.

Week 9: 1. Describe three ways that computers have made the world safer and less safe.

When talking about the safety of the world as a whole it becomes a different topic then say the safety of a singular country or a single nation. To talk about the safety of the world means that the question is truly asking to describe the ways that computers have helped make humanity as a whole safer and less safe. In that case we have to start with the advantages of all these technological advancements. The main points being the obvious points like we have conveniences like online banking, databases that can store terabytes of information for health purposes, and social media to express our true inner feelings. The thing that all of these advancements have in common however, is that they have all been breached before. No system as long as it is digitalized is 100 percent safe from the prying eyes of malicious users. To claim otherwise is a foolish pipe dream from someone that doesn’t understand the rapid rate at which technology and consequently malicious techniques are developing. However, we can get pretty close to being near perfectly secured in our data. Computers these days come pre equipped with specialized defense systems to have an initial defense against malware and malicious practices. Although one could argue that without computers there would be need to protect data because computers are also the main reason that many computational systems get breached. When a malicious user can get into a defense system from a place then they can deal heavy damage to that company or business. Of course, with these malicious practices there are also people that have to learn and evolve at an equal rate in order to keep up with the malicious users, hence why white hat hackers exist. With white hat hackers and black hat hackers entering a never-ending battle trying to one up the other it makes one wonder how much your data is worth to you.

Week 10: 1. How do engineers make cyber networks safer?

Engineers can be hired in order to make frameworks for contractors. A framework is basically a preset model that lists out a bunch of recommended things to do and follow in order to better protect themselves. They will also set up security networks that allow for them to monitor and analyze all cyberthreats that are trying to invade the system. There are numerous individuals that specialize in different areas of this process, such as the actual setting up of the framework, all the way to the maintaining and improvement of the framework. Improving the framework is an entire separate issue because as we evolve so too do our enemies. Humans as a species are ever learning and constantly growing from our mistakes. For example, think of it like an SQL injection. If one specific port doesn’t work when you try to inject it you don’t just stop, you try another port and if that port doesn’t work then you keep trying ports until it does work. This is same concept with humans, if a malicious user tries to hack into your valuable data one way, then it’s expected that they’re going to fail a couple of times. However, they don’t stop and continue to try until they finally find a method that works for them. Of course, the opposite on our side is naturally also true. If malicious users find a way around all of the parameters and security measures, we set then we just have to make more that are stricter and keep them out. This field in general is very interesting in its dichotomy, take for example a firefighter. A firefighter’s main enemies are stress, fire, and physical strain, while tough it’s not exactly an enemy that can fight back or has the skill to grow and evolve. The fire isn’t going to suddenly start gaining intelligence and figuring out ways to trap the firefighter. However, this is what people in the cybersecurity field have to deal with. They have to deal with constantly everchanging enemies that can grow and evolve.

Week 11: 1. What is the overlap between criminal justice and cybercrime? How does this overlap relate to the other disciplines discussed in this class?

Criminal justice, by definition is “the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes.” Essentially what this means is that if a person does something illegal then by the force of the law, they will be held accountable for their actions. However, criminal justice as a whole can refer to the overarching system that makes this process function. This can include law enforcement, the court system, and corrections. Law enforcement are essentially the people that capture and witness these criminal activities. This can include people like the police. Through lawful means they are able to detain people that are suspicious and suspected of criminal activity. The court system is the legal process of proving if a person is innocent or guilty of a criminal offense. This area can include people like the judge, the jury, the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and any witnesses. Corrections is essentially the process of actually carrying out sentences if a person is found to be guilty of a criminal offense with punishment. This can include correction officers. Cybercrime, by definition is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network. It’s pretty self-explanatory, a cybercrime is just a normal crime that a person uses a computer to commit. In this day and age this is a common occurrence and just because the crime is committed virtually doesn’t mean that the consequences should be any less severe.  In cases where virtual crimes are committed such as money laundering, hacking, and unauthorized access, there are special teams that look at this information and gather it for the court system. Therefore, the criminal justice system is able to handle cybercrimes.  An easy way to relate this information back to the class is through forensics. The whole concept of forensics is looking at digital evidence in order to gather information. 

Week 12: 1. How does cyber technology impact interactions between offenders and victims?

The answer to this question lies solely in the type of crime that’s being committed. Say for instance a crime takes place in the real world with physical people and physical damage occurs. In this situation let’s choose a robbery as the crime that’s being committed. Back in ye olden days if you got your stuff stolen you had to call the police and hope that you could remember the face of the person and they could draw a half accurate sketch that might help you to get your stuff back. Nowadays if you get something stolen off your person you can just call the police and send them a picture of the suspect. Of course, in a situation like that it’s very unlikely that you’ll be able to take a picture of the suspect but even still 3d design has grown to such a point where we would be able to accurately draw a realistic model of the person using modern technology. Of course, this only applies to crimes that happen with people involved in the outside world. With the internet it’s an entirely different domain that you have to worry about. Firstly, technology allows for there to be interactions virtually. Then, there are a whole new section of crimes to worry about. Say for instance a person hacks a random rich person’s computer and demands ten thousand dollars in order to release their computer and all of their files in it. The addition of technology would allow for this entire interaction to be completely anonymous with the only danger for the hacker being that they are exposing their IP which may or may not be their real IP because it can be masked. There are of course many, many other examples of technology being able to change how crimes are committed between the attacker and the victim, but this just mainly showcases the difference between virtual and physical crimes.

Week 13: 1. How should we approach the development of cyber-policy and -infrastructure given the “short arm” of predictive knowledge?

Firstly, in an environment where things are constantly everchanging it’s important to not rely on predictions. Relying on this new “predictive” technology won’t work the same way that it does in predicting the weather. The way I see it, this field is better off if we rely on reacting to threats less so than trying to predict them. It’s an interesting topic to delve into, given that we set parameters for how a predictive AI could work it wouldn’t be a viable replacement for real specialists simply because humans are too intelligent. Of course, an artificial “being” made to make its own decisions based on programming would be capable of running calculations and instantly responding to threats hypothetically. Humans are given the unique ability to grow and evolve which when combined with our creative minds allows for the overpowering of such fictional concepts. To put it in other words, humans are much more creative than machines could be. An artificial intelligence could never replicate the vast combinations of ideas and inventions that the human brain can. It is our gift that we as a human species hold. We as a species have a multitude of experience that we gain over the period of a lifetime. These experiences give us inspiration and allow us to be creative. A machine could never replicate the feelings that we feel and as such wouldn’t be able to replicate our creativity. What am I trying to say by writing this? Simply put, since machines do not have the vast experiences and creativity that we as humans gained from our multitude of experiences, they cannot adapt to the determined cyber criminals that wish to infiltrate past our defense systems. Personally, I have the belief that pursuing the field of adaptive technology for security is a futile effort but of course this is just my own opinion.