Research Paper
Kylie Tindal
Avila University
Abstract
Digital security is a concept nearly all humans need to understand. There are precautions people can take to prevent the unwanted outcomes of hackers gaining access to information- but are they enough? Will there ever be a place to put information out into the internet and not have it be stolen or hacked? Recognizing the importance of digital security for individuals is imperative, and now more than ever people need to put forth the effort when protecting their identity, technology, and assets in the digital world.
Digital security is one of the 9 digital citizenship advocacy issues that is often overlooked by internet users today. In its simplest form, digital security, also known as cybersecurity, can be described as a term that includes the tools you can use in order to secure your identity, assets, and technology in the online world. It is more important than today’s society may realize, as it allows people to use social media and online banking while protecting them from identity theft, fraud, and hundreds of other risks. With an infinitely growing digital world, having a thorough understanding of what it means to be digitally secure is one of the smartest things to do.
Impact on Today’s Society
Whether on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any online shopping site, humans put out a plethora of personal information daily. In this day and age, there is such a push toward connectivity and being logged in that it is easy to forget about the dangers on the apps we open multiple times a day. More than 30,000 websites are hacked each and every day. This is something many people choose to ignore, but what they don’t know is how that number directly impacts them. Criminals are now using software that allows them to insert “Like” buttons on Facebook that download malware (a software program intended to damage or disable computers and computer systems) to people’s personal computers. This allows the hackers access to past passwords, credit card numbers, and sometimes, indirectly, money. Today’s generation of teenagers are known to be the generation with technology, always keeping their phones in their hands. This poses a problem for many- not taking safety precautions during internet use.
Precautions to Take
When thinking of how easy everything is becoming online, isn’t that also making things a lot more dangerous? Some things that could put people in vulnerable situations are:
· Weak passwords
· Sharing passwords
· Using the same password for multiple sites
· Writing your passwords down
Avoiding simple passwords could be a lifesaver. Generally, hackers try to obtain the passwords of multiple people at once, so- if a password is generic, you could fall victim to them. Sharing passwords might be convenient but could also eventually end up with someone who wouldn’t use that power for good. That person could also start using the password on their own accounts, leading hackers toward another common password on their list. When using the same password for multiple websites, it is important to switch things up. Using capital letters, special characters, numbers, etc. could help meet password requirements and keep them safe. When writing passwords down to remember for a later date, think about who could find/see that piece of paper. There are plenty of password managing programs out there to help aide people in this situation. After taking so many precautions, is there a way for the internet to ever be secure?
Is There a Solution?
There may never be a point in time where all the information that is put out into the digital world is safe, but there are many programs designed to help with the issue. Not as many individuals take the route of getting help before bad things happen. Businesses, however, opt to find programs designed to prevent hackers and risks. They seek help from firewalls, antivirus solutions, disaster recovery, encryptions, and many other types of security solutions. To begin, firewalls are used to control incoming and outgoing connections, which better protects your personal network from attack. Antivirus solutions more so scan your personal system looking for threats, and some of the more modern antivirus solutions are able to detect previously unknown threats based on your network’s behavior. If your computer software has been attacked previously, you can request disaster recovery to help recover from the disaster quickly. This solution facilitates the process from there on out and makes the consumers job easier. Finally, some businesses choose to encrypt their data, which means even if the information is stolen it cannot be accessed.
Being digitally secure in today’s society is one of the smartest things you can work toward. Affecting more than we realize, the ever-growing internet may be the reason for danger and damage to an abundance of personal information. To a great extent, there are superior programs designed to help consumers protect the information they provide online, which come in handy before, during, and after your online security is breached. Cybersecurity is still a vast concern to many, and there is no way of knowing if the precautions people take now will ever pay off in the future. In the end the only protection from hackers is gained by not giving information, and that is most definitely difficult in a world where social media is pushed in the face of nearly everyone.
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