- Describe three ways that computers have made the world safer and less safe.
I always find it amazing that the phones we carry in or day to day lives are more advanced than the computer that helped put the first men on the moon. Computers have allowed the world to reach places never imagined in both a good and bad sense. These systems have helped make the world safer through improved security, collaboration and communication, and engineering. Home, vehicle, and personal security have all improved with the development of computers. I am currently 1000 miles from my house, but can monitor my home in real time through my phone. I can see my house, set my alarm, lock doors, and open the garage all from a handheld computer. Computers have also enabled law enforcement agencies to communicate and collaborate as well as share information with the public to help stop crime and save lives. Amber alerts used to be sent via TV where it was not immediately seen. Through the use of computers, these alerts are now immediately seen by people. Computers have assisted with the development of new technology. Before computers, human error limited designs, but today computers are able to help engineers with designing to a new precision.
Computers do not come without their dark side. Privacy issues are a major concern on home computers. People tend to store a lot of personal information and files on their computers that they would not want anyone to see. Unfortunately, these home computers are not safe because they go beyond a physical object and reach into the cyber realm. Because these computers are in the physical security of a person’s home it gives them a false sense of security that the data on the computer is safe as well. These privacy issues go beyond the home computer to businesses. Our personal information is now given out to multiple business without questions. The sheer amount of personal data that is stored all over the world on millions of computers puts almost every single human at serious risk. Additionally, society’s reliance on computers presents a major threat to humanity. Though computer have given humanity the most advanced edge, they make people dumber in a sense. Recently, Colonial Pipeline admitted that when their network was attacked, very few people know how to operate their systems manually without the use of computers. This reliance on computers endangers society by enabling a culture of “forgetting the basics.”
2. How do engineers make cyber networks safer?
Cyber networks are like any other structure. Building these structures or networks without security makes it more difficult and less reliant when it is added at a later time. When anything is designed, adding security measures into the design plans allows for more structured and reliant security as it is an integral part of the system. Once a system is designed and implemented, without integrated security measures, security can only be an outer shell and cannot be fully integrated into the system. Engineers provide designs that incorporate security features in hardware and software which make systems inherently safe and allow for the integration of other security features at a later time. As SP 800-160 states, “Systems engineering provides the foundation for a disciplined and structured approach to engineering trustworthy secure systems” (2018). Engineers design, test, and incorporate security features into all their designs and applications. Additionally, engineers will monitor and track systems in order to update and patch any flaws that are exposed. This type of engineering design, based on secure systems as well as continued monitoring, provides for the most secure networks possible.
Ross , R., McEvilley, M., & Oren, J. (2018). Systems Security Engineering. Special Publication 800-160, NIST.