Rio Salado Community College
Cyber Security and Privacy Issues
Draft, Review and Reflect
Yvonne Medina
English 102
Professor Robert Beckwith
Cyber Security and Privacy Issues
According to Judson Knight, published author, the World-Wide Web was created by U.S. Government and Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in 1969 in order to enhance computer networks for security measures. Computer networking expanded in the mid 1980's on a commercial level to include the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Energy, to name a few. (Hudson, par. 1).
How did networking computers evolve from computer networking enhancing for security measures to exposing private information about human beings on the internet? Our private and personal information is not just at the hands of people within the United States, it is as easily accessible as far as the World Wide Web is available, globally.
Internet companies such as Yahoo and Google expose our home addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, social networking sites such as Facebook, Resume's, traffic tickets, arrest information, court documents, marriage and birth information, relatives, friends, past residences including states and cities we have lived in, even a blueprint of the layout of your residence.
Our first amendment right, "freedom of speech," has been widely used as justification by Internet companies and brokers who collect and share our personal information. There are companies who are selling and buying our personal information and making millions of dollars. Our personal information is collected by companies when we provide our information to pharmacies, health insurance, shopping online, airline reservations, paying bills, registering for school, applying for marriage and divorce certificates, and so many other entities that we are unaware of who we provide our personal information to, is not private at any level.
We, as users are not protected because there are no Internet privacy laws in the United States. Even when our personal information is not being shared by businesses it is vulnerable to cyber-attacks. These cyber-attacks are not employed by individuals alone. There are large organizations which attack our personal computers, and devices to alter and/or steal our personal information such as bank account information and passwords by hacking into our systems. Hackers, also target businesses and government entities with sophisticated technology.
When we, as a society envision war, the most prominent picture is most commonly that of conflict between nations. We seldom connect war with Cyber-attacks. Our Cyber environment is consistently vulnerable to ascending technology. Cybercrime is an infinite emerging source which is focused on attacking our lives on a personal and global level.
The infrastructure in which our world wide web exists has been hacked, infiltrated by viruses and become progressively vulnerable to induced network outages. These issues can produce an inconvenience to large scale hazardous outcomes. For this reason, Cyber Security, is not only a personal topic of interest but, also a topic of concern nationally. As the need to process and store highly confidential data continues to grow, cyber-attacks continue to evolve threatening our cyber environment.
Secretary of Defense Speech: defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech-View/Article/606666/drell-lecture-rewiring-the-pentagon-charting-a-new-path-on-innovation-and-cyber
One of my favorite movies on cyber security is the movie "Snowden," directed by Oliver Stone. We have all seen movies depicting computer "hackers," and the devastating effects of identity theft among millions of people. Are we vulnerable to cybercrime or vulnerable to cybercrime and the NSA? This movie brought forth yet another form of cyberattack upon unsuspecting citizens by the NSA. The film director, Oliver Stone, served in the Vietnam War. He has directed award winning films to include: Natural Born Killers, Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July.
Security is the core of our defense not only as individuals but, as a nation. Our personal information is kept on large data bases among our healthcare, financial and government organizations. How do we safeguard from cyber-attacks?
Professor John Arquilla, explains how devastating the impact of battlefield information intrusion has been for our U.S. military in his document, "Cyberwars Is Already Upon Us."
He contends that we must do more than depend on the Maginot Line, which are firewalls which assist in detecting cyber-attacks.
In order to protect ourselves from cyberattacks we must first understand that we, as a society are vulnerable from every angle of our lives. We must take precautions to safeguard our personal information, and become our own advocates. Co-dependency is not the answer to winning the war on cybercrime. (Arquilla, "Cyberwar Is Already Upon Us.").
Convenience comes with a price. Online services are convenient but, we have to be responsible about handing over our personal, identifiable information in return for the instant response. Utilizing cash and physically making purchases can decrease the marketing and vulnerability of our personal information being breached. (Arquilla, "Cyberwar Is Already Upon Us.").
Once our information is breached we have no repercussions. I agree that the war on cybercrime began simultaneously when technology arrived. Firewalls are an anti-cybercrime tool but, the tool needs to be consistently utilized and refined, on a consistent basis. (Arquilla, "Cyberwar Is Already Upon Us.").
We have the tools to fight cybercrime. We must broaden the enforcement on cybercrime, not only on the attackers but, also on our government in order to ensure complete security and consistency. Cybercrime is always evolving and thus, cyber security must stay ahead of this complex technology. The war is not only among intruders but, may also be among those we are supposed to entrust with our lives. This will only sharpen our intelligence and win the war on cybercrime. (Arquilla, "Cyberwar Is Already Upon Us.").
As we surf the Internet, our browsing habits are being collected. Inclusive of my research I want to share and educate others on the pros and cons of "filter bubbles." Many of us are unaware that when we search online that our search results are being restricted by web algorithms. We live in America, the land of the free but, yet we are being held unsuspectingly from freedom once we enter our cyber world. (Farrell, "Bubble trouble.").
Source Review
The sources which I have consulted on this topic have come from the Rio Salado Library data base articles within Opposing Viewpoints. This topic is not a common subject as most of us are oblivious that it even exists and therefore, my research was not as abundant as I had hoped. The articles concur on the existence of filter bubbles but, have differing perspectives on the effects of the filter bubbles. (Farrell, "Bubble trouble.").
The article by Henry A. Farrell, a professor of political science and internal affairs at George Washington University discusses what he calls the "social consequences," of online communication in correlation to filter bubbles. Farrell, concurs with Eli Pariser and his views on online search result restrictions, providing us with only results which correlate with our past search queries. Facebook and Google also choose our search results for us in correlation to what they choose what our interests are. I believe that web companies eliminate what they believe we don't want to know and elaborate on that information which they perceive we want to know. The issue with filter bubbles is that they exist without the knowledge of most people who use the internet. Where is the democracy of the United States of America if web companies are governing our cyber world without our knowledge? These restrictive methodologies powered by web companies affect even our newsfeeds, holding us hostage to a bias environment. (Farrell, "Bubble trouble.").
In another article by Doug Saunders, a British-Canadian journalist, author, and columnist for The Globe and Mail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada explains his views on filter bubbles. Saunders contends that research via a representative sample of 1,400 people in the United States, by Andrew Guess of New York University found that search results by Republicans were almost the same as search results by Democrats. He mentions another study conducted by Oxford, Stanford and Microsoft Research found that social media is expanding ideology among people and newsfeeds are the consensus behind what people choose to visit within the political compass. He believes people are not being restricted on their online search results rather, they are selecting their preferences. (Saunders, Doug, "Bursting the bubble of online 'filter bubbles'.").
It is important that we as Americans stay informed when we enter the cyber world, and understand the relevance of expanding our knowledge beyond our own ideologies and preferences. This knowledge will promote and foster our education, business, political, religious and all aspects of our environment within a diverse perspective. This diverse perspective and knowledge will allow us to integrate innovation and encourage complex social structures and decrease tension of modern social life not only in America but, globally. Bursting the filter bubbles is an opportunity and a step forward towards being an American. Knowledge is power and diversity is key. (Saunders, Doug, "Bursting the bubble of online 'filter bubbles'.").
In order to protect our privacy and keep our cyber world secure there must be regulations and privacy laws created and enforced at every level of use. Our personal information should not be allowed to be exposed on the Internet without our permission. Our information should be protected not shared, sold and purchased. Our data must be highly secured by progressive technology which evolves ahead of complex intrusive software. Exposing our personal information on the Internet only increases our vulnerability to become a victim and violates our fourth amendment right, "to be secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search and seizures, shall not be violated." Constitution of United States of America 1789 (rev. 1992).
Works Cited
KNIGHT, JUDSON. "Internet." Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence and Security, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, vol. 2, Gale, 2004, pp. 140-143. Gale Virtual Reference Library
Arquilla, John. "Cyberwar Is Already Upon Us." Cybercrime, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Current Controversies. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context
US Department of Defense. "Remarks by Secretary Carter at the Drell Lecture Cemex Auditorium, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford, CA, Press Operations," 2016
Snowden. Directed by Oliver Stone, performances by Joseph Gordon Levitt and Shailene Woodley, 2016.
Farrell, Henry A. "Bubble trouble." The American Prospect, vol. 22, no. 7, 2011, p. 60+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Saunders, Doug. "Bursting the bubble of online 'filter bubbles'." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada], 1 Oct. 2016, p. F7. Opposing Viewpoints in Context