On the Offensive

On The Offensive

Khalan Howell

Central Washington University

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On The Offensive

The World and everyone in it has the ability to send and receive information throughout cyberspace. Changes in the network, along with the ability to access information are forever increasing. This can cause malicious behavior to increase as access becomes easier for individuals everywhere. All over the world there are reports of data being stolen, networks being disrupted, and phishing scams that are being executed. As citizens we are familiar with using the internet in our everyday lives but are we prepared to defend our personal information from those criminals who wander the internet everyday looking for passwords, bank information, home addresses, or anything else the criminals think is worth looking for? Most people know how to use the internet for basic, everyday necessities, including things like paying bills, shopping online, and getting directions to their upcoming yoga class.

What most people don’t know is that every time they enter the World Wide Web they are putting themselves and their family at a potential risk of being hacked or having their identity stolen, or even worse the user may now have a virus that is monitoring every move they make on their computer, twenty-four hours a day. Sometimes even the webcam can be hacked, giving the perpetrator the opportunity to watch every move, live from the webcam. This can be scary, something so incomprehensible that most people become overwhelmed with the idea, having no way of knowing how to prevent such an issue, so most times the problem goes on, ignored by the average consumer. So what is it that we can do? Not much really. At least not without the help of others who are familiar with security aspects involved in the using of the internet and all that comes with it.

Is our government doing anything to protect us? It seems they only deal with major cyber-attacks and are not worried about the private...