After watching the video, I can think of many ways media influences our understanding of cybersecurity. The idea that a hacker is still a kid or young man in their basement is still very much alive and 99 percent wrong. Many people also have the wrong notion of “I don’t have anything of value”. As of 2023, everyone has something of value, like knowledge, access to something private, and their identity, and lately, even their DNA is the most valuable thing someone can have. Many movies portray a kid or hacker who can work miracles in a couple of minutes, take everything, and get out without being detected, but they do not show that hackers are more sophisticated than that. Hackers take their time studying their targets and their systems. They make sure that they understand that system and the best and most stealth way to do it. Unless it is a crime of opportunity, hackers take a long time before entering any system.
Media oversimplify cybersecurity, making it more difficult to educate users. People often confuse fantasy and reality. They lower their guard and forget simple things like, do not connect to public Wi-Fi, do not write down your password, and do not recycle it. Also, the idea that hackers need a huge area with multiple computers to hack something is erroneous, many times they just need an internet connection and a constructed device or access to certain software and they are in. As cybersecurity professionals, we need to spread awareness and help educate the new generations to be safe in cyberspace.