The video from Insider starring the professional security analyst Keren Elazari, where she rated how realistic the hacking was from various movies, made me appreciate how accurate the hacking scenes were for most of the movies showcased. Only a few movies from old franchises have inaccurate hacking scenes, which also stemmed from old misconceptions. Pondering on this, it made me reevaluate the misconceptions I had before taking cybersecurity as my major. One misconception that I had was believing that having a strong, frustratingly complicated password for my logins was enough protection, but that was proven wrong, and a user needs more steps in authentication. Another misconception I had was that hacking only happens outside of an organization, but that one was small and was easily disproven before taking this course.

The biggest misconception I had before studying cybersecurity was the human factor. The time that I have spent studying cybersecurity has truly made me realize just how important the human factor is in this field than I thought previously. Before, it was underestimated, but now I understand it to be the most essential factor that goes beyond the realm of cybersecurity. I was always careful and wary about sharing information online, and in an age where more people are becoming comfortable with what they do, what they say, and what they share online, being overly cautious was a blessing. The human factor is both the biggest risk and strongest defense within this field, but cybersecurity is more than just the technology or hacking; it’s about people, behavior, organizations, and how all three elements work in tandem with one another in a digital space.