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

Computers have made the world safer, but they have also made it less safe. When it comes to protecting personally identifiable information (PII), computer technology allows for much stronger data protection compared to the less sophisticated methods of security. For example, an individual may set up biometrics on a hard drive or computer as a method of authentication because it is near impossible to replicate—this is much safer than storing sensitive information in a vault or a locked briefcase. Biometrics have also contributed to making airports much safer than ever before. Moreover, the impact of computers on our safety can be seen throughout the medical world. For example, surgeons are making use of computers that assist them in monitoring the patient’s status as well as the instruments that are designed to be much steadier than the human hand when performing surgeries or other medical procedures and measurements. Lastly, computers have helped to improve the safety of the general public through the sharing of information on social media and other venues (i.e., AMBER alert). Most people are carrying smart devices that receive such information and are notified of anything important at an instant. For example, in the event of a child abduction or a severe weather warning, AMBER alerts are sent to all smartphones within the vicinity of the event, letting the person know what has happened and take the steps necessary to get to safety or bring safety to others. There are also numerous social media accounts belonging to local police departments that broadcast information that helps promote the safety of civilians.

Computers can also work against our safety. Since computers are never 100% secure, there is always a chance that a cybercriminal could somehow gain access to our PII, even when we think we are doing our best to minimize the risk of this happening. This opens the realm of vast opportunity for bad actors to conduct their malicious behavior. Now that much of our sensitive information is online or stored on a computer, we have to deal with threats of malware, ransomware, phishing attempts, viruses, etc., and we must be attentive to these threats at all times, addressing any vulnerabilities in question. Furthermore, there are many critical systems infrastructure that can be severely affected by a single cyber attack. A recent example of this happened in Oldsmar, Florida when a hacker attempted to poison the water inside a water treatment facility, which had the potential to cause multiple casualties. Thankfully, the facility recovered from the attack before any harm could be done. When there isn’t a strong security posture set in place, this is the kind of event that can occur. Another way computers have made us less safe is through e-commerce. Whenever a financial transaction is performed online, or credit card information is saved to an account, hackers are given the opportunity to gain access to this information and then spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars belonging to the victim as they wish. Recovering from an attack like this is possible, but it takes time and leaves the victim in a complicated situation. Lastly, a person’s safety may be compromised through the use of social media. For example, if a person posts that they are out and about, a certain thief could see this and take it as an opportunity to commit a burglary on their house while they are away. There are many other pieces of information that can be used against you whenever you post it online, so it is important to be mindful of what you post.