Ian Pessagno
Social Studies
March 19, 2014
Cybersecurity: Friend or Foe?
From 2005 to 2020, the digital universe will grow by a factor of 300, from 130 exabytes to 40,000 exabytes, or 40 trillion gigabytes.The Internet is growing at an outrageous rate, and with it so must security. Yet what happens when one grows faster than another? Will that set fire to the internet and topple it, or make it stronger? I am looking in to the big questions that has been floating around, a hot topic, and a major issue across multiple countries but highly polemical in the U.S. In recent years we have seen cybersecurity become a major issue that many people do not comprehend. Cyber Security by definition means “measures taken to protect a computer or computer system (as on the Internet) against unauthorized access or attack”, this word was first used around the year 1994. Actually cyber security helps our everyday lives and keeps us safe from cyber attacks. These cyber attacks could steal important information like credit card numbers or addresses even age and any other information stored on a site with no cyber security measures. The US government and the private sector are utilizing numerous strategies to keep up with the rapid pace of increasingly sophisticated cyber security threats. at heart of this grown to its all time maximum and people are beginning to question if the government’s and private sector’s attempts to effectively and is now undermining civil liberties and exceeding limits of government secrecy. In the past, present and future, cyber security has been both an ally and enemy of the U.S. government and U.S. citizens.
First we begin by rewinding to the past to see how Cyber Security has changed the Internet. The Internet origin...
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...thermore, the U.S. government recently accused 5 high ranking chinese officials of cyber espionage. This unprecedented accusation has led to increased tension between the two governments with both accusing each other of espionage. @@2$Insert quote between china and us sum up final pargrpah. #@#@
Topic Sentence #3: Is this the end of the internet and where will we go from here?
Evidence #1: The NSA could be be bringing the end of the internet, we need to have a perfect balance of self-expression, internet cyber security, and governance.
Evidence #2: Snowden has stated a SXSW that “ the NSA is setting fire to the internet, and that you are the firemen” I believe that the people we need to begin to fight for internet freedom especially with what just happened to “fastlane” internet and what it means for small corporations and large ones.
At this juncture, it may be somewhat difficult to accept the proposition that a threat to the telecommunications grid, both wired and wireless, in the United States could potentially be subject to a catastrophic cyber attack. After careful research on the subject, it appears the potentiality of an event of such magnitude, which either disrupts one or the other grids for a long period or destroys either, is both theoretically and realistically impossible. It may be that proponents—those who advance such theories—equate such “doomsday” scenarios as if a cyber attack would or could be of the same magnitude as a conventional or nuclear military strike. Terms such as “cyber Pearl Harbor,” “cyber 9/11” and “cyber Vietnam” have been used to describes potential catastrophic cyber attacks and yet, “Though many have posited notions on what a ‘real’ cyber war would be like, we lack the understanding of how such conflicts will be conducted and evolve.” (Rattray & Healey, 2010, p. 77). Yet, the U.S. government continues to focus on such events, as if the plausibility of small-scale cyber attacks were not as pressing.
Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.
With the introduction of the internet being a relatively new phenomenon, the act of cyber espionage is not something that has been properly acknowledged by society. The American Government has done a stand up job of keeping its methods in the shadows and away from the eyes of its people since its documented domestic surveillance began on October 4th, 2001; Twenty three days after the Twin Towers fell President George Bush signed an order to begin a secret domestic eavesdropping operation, an operation which was so sensitive that even many of the country's senior national security officials with the...
Australia is dependent on technology, everything from state security, economics and information collaboration is more accessible resulting in an increased reliance on digital networks. The rapid increase in cyber activity has a symbiotic relationship with cyber crime. The evolving nature of cyber crimes are constantly leaving counter measures obsolete in the face of these new technologies. Australia takes insufficient action against cyber crime, inaction is based on Australia’s previous focus on counter-terrorism. This study will use the Australia’s National Security Strategy 2013 to show the increasing trend towards cyber security. Unfortunately the Australia Government is lacking in the presence of this growing phenomenon. Recently cyber crimes including attacks from Anonymous and Wiki-leaks prove that no network is completely secure. This study will conclude that the exponential growth of the Internet has resulted in an inability to properly manage regardless of the governmental strategies being implemented.
As a patriot of this great nation, what has been presented is of extreme if not grave concern. The challenges of cyberculture to our nation’s security have been revealed . To what extent our security has been breached is a matter of speculation but be informed that these breaches must be met with complete counter active success - failure to do so is not an option.
Part of the allure of the Internet has always been the anonymity it offers its users. As the Internet has grown however, causing capitalists and governments to enter the picture, the old rules are changing fast. E-commerce firms employ the latest technologies to track minute details on customer behavior. The FBI's Carnivore email-tracking system is being increasingly used to infringe on the privacy of netizens. Corporations now monitor their employees' web and email usage. In addition to these privacy infringements, Internet users are also having their use censored, as governments, corporations, and other institutions block access to certain sites. However, as technology can be used to wage war on personal freedoms, it can also be employed in the fight against censorship and invasion of privacy.
The government gives each American citizen a set of unalienable rights that protect them from the government’s power. These rights cannot be broken, yet the government violates the Fourth Amendment daily to find ways to spy on the American public under the guise of protecting against terrorism. In 2007 President Obama said the American administration “acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our securities – it is not.” Americans need to understand that their privacy is worth the fight. The people need to tell their neighbors, their congressmen, and their senators that they will not allow their internet privacy to be violated by needless spying. American citizens deserve the rights given to them and need to fight for the right to keep them by changing privacy laws to include Internet privacy.
In today’s world, we are all in some way connected to or involved with the Internet, it is really hard not to be. We all use different services that we feel either augment our daily lives or make them more pleasurable every day. We all take a sort of deceitful comfort in the basic inconspicuousness of the Internet. When we think about it, could it end up being the single biggest risk to our own safety? Most people don’t take the threat of cybercrimes as seriously because unfortunately they don’t realize just how life altering these threats are, until it’s too late. There are many types of cybercrime being committed daily that everybody needs to protect themselves from such as identity theft and fraud.
Cyber security is like trying to box while being blindfolded.. Cyber instability may cause massive panic in citizens of the United States. Government surveillance is one of the platforms of cyber security and it started to erupt after the 9/11 incident. The main ways the government watches people today is with cell phone, social media, and email surveillance. Should they be able to invade our privacy? Maybe. Many crimes are committed on computers everyday whether it be credit card hacks, stolen identities, or even social media accounts taken. Cyber attacks may lead people to distrust the cyber community and the people behind cyber protection.
In recent years, many possible plans to enact government regulation to improve cybersecurity have been suggested. Most recently, in 2017, then U.S. president Barack Obama implemented the Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP). The plan would have invested $19 billion in cybersecurity by gathering experts to make recommendations in regards to cyber security, help secure the government IT group, and encourage more advanced security measures (Daniel 1). However, while CNAP does present a way to solve the problem, it just adds another program that attempts to enhance cybersecurity: “It is the multiplicity of programs and division of responsibility that diminishes their effectiveness. At least eleven federal agencies bear significant responsibility for cybersecurity” (Cohen 1). Every so often, another cybersecurity program will be established, but former plans are seldom removed. This leads to a large amount of departments to share responsibility, which creates general confusion and limits each department’s power. Furthermore, widespread government regulation may weaken cybersecurity. Many fear that any regulation would not be flexible enough and would instead allow easier hacking (Ridge 3). If every system in the entire nation had the same security measures, it would be much easier to break into as by breaking into one system, a hacker a could break into everything.
The history of the internet shows that the internet is not a new medium. The internet was initially created in the 1960's to as a way for the United States to stay connected in case of a nuclear fallout due to the possible consequences of the Cold War. F...
Different authors have reviewed the cyber terrorism from different angles. Most of them have focused on the aims and objectives which terrorist wants to accomplish through cyber warfare. Moreover they have stressed over the need to the measures taken to combat cyber-attacks by terrorists.
A major reason the U.S. needs to increase restrictions on the type and amount of data collected on individuals from the internet is due to the fact that the United States government can track communications and browsing histories of private citizens without warrant or cause. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, ...
The nation has become dependent on technology, furthermore, cyberspace. It’s encompassed in everything we deliver in our daily lives, our phones, internet, communication, purchases, entertainment, flying airplane, launching missiles, operating nuclear plants, and implicitly, our protection. The more ever-growing technology empower Americans, the more they become prey to cyber threats. The United States Executive Office of the President stated, “The President identified cybersecurity as one of the top priorities of his administration in doing so, directed a 60-day review to assess polices.” (United States Executive Office of the President, 2009, p.2). Furthermore, critical infrastructure, our network, and internet alike are identified as national assets upon which the administration will orchestrate integrated cybersecurity policies without infringing upon and protecting privacy. While protecting our infrastructure, personal privacy, and civil liberties, we have to keep in mind the private sector owns and operates the majority of our critical and digital infrastructure.
Cybercrime refers to all forms of crime conducted through a computer or a mobile device using computer networks. It is thus the use of a computer with the aim of intercepting and manipulating content, disrupting communication, stealing or generally destroying others’ information or hardware through a network. Although cybercrime is a worldwide problem and affects both small and big companies, small companies are affected more from the dangers of cybercrime. The rapid advancement in technology is causing tremendous problems to businesses in terms of more sophisticated cyber-attacks. This project is interesting and beneficial because it enlightens one on the dangers of cybercrime, thus preparing individuals to know how to prevent attacks while online, how to reduce the effects of a cyber-attack and how to prevent future