Journal Entry (Module 8) CYSE 201S

After watching the video, write a journal entry about how you think
the media influences our understanding about Cybersecurity.

Lets tackle the question “how does the media influence our understanding of cybersecurity?”

Let’s start by breaking down what media is and who were referring to when we say “our”.

The media landscape is diverse, encompassing various forms like television shows, news broadcasts, movies, and social media platforms. Additionally, alternative media options like podcasts and radio shows, including public radio programs and talk radio, offer a wide range of content.

Next, when we say our, I’ll assume we mean Americans. Technical familiarity mostly varies by age/generation. Older generations generally have less technical understanding while younger generations are more familiar. They also consume different forms of media. Older generations are more keen to TV News and younger generations mostly consume social media or entertainment media like TikTok and YouTube.

So, we have a wide range of people and forms of media. Let’s dive in to how this shapes the understanding of cybersecurity.

I think most people understand that Hollywood movies and shows are not always accurate and take liberties with their depictions of things. I’ll admit there are some quality shows that are accurate but it’s not the norm. I also think they will understand the Cybersecurity landscape they see/hear about on “the news” is for the most part more realistic and more accurate. However, most news coverage focuses on major breaches that are high-profile. This underplays the wider cyber threat landscape cyber professionals will be more familiar with.

Overall, I think on average most will have a view that “hacking” is something that requires high intelligence and high amounts of knowledge and skill. Something akin to “card-counting” or when you see a really good skateboarder. You realize it’s not something anyone can just pickup and succeed at tomorrow. It’s understood it’s a pursuit that requires dedication and ability to succeed at.

I think there’s also confusion about what “hacking” is. People might have their Facebook accounts compromised and say “I got hacked.” While they may not possess the advanced technical knowledge of coding, scripting, exploit development, finding vulnerabilities, and subsequently delivering and executing malicious code on the target system, they accurately describe the outcome – their account was compromised through unauthorized access.

It may be possible a decent amount will associate cybersecurity with cyberwarfare. They may be aware of the larger situation that countries are engaged in cyberwarfare with one another. For instance, they may have heard about “Russian Hackers” in stories about the election. Perhaps also they’ve heard about China’s theft of intellectual property and how that’s related to hacking/cybersecurity. They may be aware of the NSA b/c of coverage it’s gotten in the past decade but will just view it as a secretive high-tech organization doing who knows what. It’s a mostly grey area.

What is clear is that misconceptions and ignorance about this field aren’t in short supply.

At multiple Congressional Hearings such as with Mark Zuckerberg, TikTok CEO and the CEO of Google many senators showcased their total lack of understanding. Individuals with tremendous power and impact in society having a conversation that shows a complete ignorance of one of the most pressing issues of the day.

I am not saying that these companies are guilt-free in terms of what the conversations were about. I am saying that the Senators who were to hold them responsible by asking pertinent questions mostly failed to do so.

It isn’t just them however. Its everyone. Let’s take a look at some examples of glaring hypocrisy.

A teenager/young adult will feign that they are much more technically inclined and know more about technology than older family members. They may laugh at them for not knowing how to do certain things, but will use TikTok daily, known to be a component of China’s cyber apparatus or use apps that are known to collect huge amounts of user data and not understand the implications of their own actions.

Where does the media fall in all of this? I think media is designed to keep peoples attention/ keep them entertained. In order to do that they have to present things in a glorified or embellished fashion. Cybersecurity is no different. Most people do not see the 99% of “boring” work and learning that it takes to get to the big moments.