Securing Our National Computer Infrastructure

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In a society where technology is prevalent and integrated in our daily lives, it is absolutely critical that we keep it as secure as possible. However, there are criminals and companies out there who intend to steal and sell our data, identity, and even our lives by interfering with our technology. Securing our national computer infrastructure isn’t a simple solution or two-step process. Instead, it is something that would require a lot of work, time, commitment, and technology innovations and advancements. With the right technology, security, and ethics training, we could make our computer infrastructure miles safer and more secure than it is right now.
Starting with probably the most important aspect of our national computer infrastructure …show more content…

One solution would be proper computer safety training. The companies could simply train their staff to secure their workstations from unauthorized use, create strong passwords, applying software patches promptly, and even not using unencrypted devices on the network. According to Verizon, 72% of attacks on healthcare organizations are done through ransomware attacks, and according to Rachel Arndt, people are the weakest link. You can have the most perfect, flawless security measures and practices in the world, but we humans are still prone to making mistakes, such as clicking on phishing emails, even if they look legitimate. However, it is still worth noting that proper training and refreshers can help employees not fall for phishing emails and other malicious attacks. There is also the issue of users being able to enter their health information willingly on their phones. Apple recently launched their latest version of the “Health” app, which allows users to enter their medical information on their iPhones. While Apple requires users to use high-level security measures to access their Health app, such as by using the user’s fingerprint from Touch ID to access the app, there’s also the risk of malicious apps who want to acquire user’s medical information as well. John Riggi, a senior FBI veteran, states that financial apps (such as for mobile banking, etc.) are managed and …show more content…

Our power grids are what allows us to have electricity to use our computers, cell phones, and even hospitals operational. Since March 2016, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Russian agents have tried and successfully hacked our electrical grids. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the Russian agents managed to access our networks with malware against smaller, third-party, less secure networks (CNN.com). This allowed the agents to access critical control systems at specific power plants. The Russian agents were also able to get screenshots of these power grid schematics, so that they can plan for future, deadlier attacks. Similar to the healthcare breaches, these attacks were also done by malware and phishing attacks, which can most likely be prevented with proper training and education. Training the people who are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the power grids on phishing emails can save them and the public a lot of

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