Network Security

In Chapters 7 and 8 of Computing Technology for All, we learned about privacy and security.  In today’s day and age, where any information is available at your fingertips via laptop, tablet, or smartphone, that means your personal information is also available.  Information can be stolen or compromised more easily today than ever before.  

Last week we executed and wrote about ping and traceroute commands.  These commands are helpful to see how our networks are running and if there are any errors.  But we can also expose ourselves to hackers this way.  By executing a ping command, we can see data about the packets sent out from our device along with the range of round trip times-echo replies received.  If you are connected to a public network, you may not be the only person finding out this information.  

Hackers could be connected to that same network and wait for a ping command to be executed.  Once that ping is executed, the hacker can find out which operating system is being run along with where the device is located.  These are very important bits of information for a hacker, and if those are compromised, they could gain access to sensitive information.  Just think about the information that is saved on your computer.  It could be anything related to your Amazon account, all the way to your driver's license and social security number.  

A popular way to obtain sensitive information is by phishing.  Phishing is an Internet scam that baits the user into sharing sensitive information (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019).  The most common example of this is when an email is sent out from what, at first glance, appears to be a legitimate company.  That company will then ask to validate information, and if that information is provided, it has now become compromised.  Previously working in the banking industry, there were many occasions when account holders would come in and ask about an email they received from the bank.  Nearly every time it was a phishing attempt.  

Possibly the most popular security incident is the computer virus.  This was always the most common computer security threat, going back to movies, TV shows, and books.  A computer would become “infected” after visiting a website or via email.  Once a computer becomes infected, that is when the damage would be done.  This includes stealing sensitive information, deleting data off the computer, and also using the computer to carry out prohibited acts.  A virus spreads like a chain reaction to other computers.  There is antivirus software that can protect against attacks, but it only works on known viruses.  

Computer systems are vulnerable to these kinds of threats for a multitude of reasons.  It could be a lack of education on the matter, or it could be due to something outside of the individual’s control.  There are thousands of known computer viruses that are discovered each month.  That damage can range from the computer’s performance issues to stolen information to fraudulent purchases and everything in between.  The best way to prevent any of these is to stay educated on the matter.  Make sure you aren’t opening emails from a sender that you aren’t familiar with.  Don’t open any links that are associated with those emails.  One of the most effective ways of staying protected is by using two-step verification.  This means you associate an email address and a phone number with an account.  Then when attempting to sign into that account, you need to provide information both ways, so if one of those devices is compromised, you still have to provide information send to the other location.  

Privacy and security are two of the most important aspects of technology that should be practiced.  The Internet can be both a blessing and a curse because of the information we have available at our fingertips.  It is your responsibility to keep yourself as safe and protected as you can.