Since the inception of the internet, society has experienced rapid technological developments through the ease at which information can travel, not only this but the internet has allowed even the non technical people to become connected to the web. While being connected to the internet and being able to interact with different people and cultures is a good thing, connecting to the internet has its fair share of dangers as those connections link back to your personal devices. Hackers are becoming more prevalent and the fact that every aspect of our life is being automated it opens everyone to risk, it is almost impossible to completely avoid putting your information into the internet with things such as paying for services, social media, and general public information. The most common types of internet crime are hacking and identity theft, because of these crimes internet users should be more mindful of their online security.
Although it is almost impossible to completely prevent your information from getting into the wrong hands, there are steps you can take to make it more difficult for criminals to obtain your personal information. The most common type of preventative measure to ensure online security is a firewall which prevents unauthorized access to your personal devices while allowing the user to still use the internet freely. Firewalls are fairly common and do a pretty good job at preventing viruses that the firewall is already programed to stop, this brings up one of its short comings which is if a virus is unknown to the firewall then the firewall will allow it into the system. Another limitation of a firewall is that it cannot stop unauthorized access if it doesn’t not pass through the firewall leaving other routes open for hacking. For general purpose and most average users, firewalls are both price effective and do a solid job at keeping the network secure and allowing for safe connectivity.
Some aspects of internet security don’t have to be as complicated as a firewall, as a user there are plenty of ways to keep your personal information safe online. One of the easiest ways to keep your information safe while in public is to avoid free Wi-Fi. Free Wi-Fi is dangerous because since it is available to anyone any person connected could potentially view what you are doing on your device. Hardening your passwords is also an effective way to ensure that your accounts to things like your bank and other sensitive information remain secure. Using different passwords for different accounts will have the best protection. Also using symbols, uppercase letters and numbers will make uncovering your password more difficult as opposed to if you just used all lower case letters. The average person will create a password that is easy to remember for them and likely easy for a hacker as it will include a child’s name or date of birth which are easily retrievable to a good hacker. Many people overlook these simple steps because they believe that they will never be the target of cybercrime, “Nearly 1.4 billion data records were stolen by hackers or lost during 2016” (zdnet,2017). As hackers become more sophisticated in their efforts this number will only continue to grow.
When discussing security online another popular security measure that is used by both individuals and corporations is a VPN (virtual private network). VPN’s work by encrypting your data and acts as a filter between the sites you are viewing and your internet provider. Although these VPN services do track your data, they do not sell this information to the government or third parties which can give internet users piece of mind. There should be caution when using a VPN service and consumers should be aware if the service is one that has been verified and has good credibility. Some VPN’s are offered for free to attract more customers, however these should be avoided because they are usually not he same quality as a subscription based service. A common misconception when using a VPN is that your identity is completely anonymous and cannot be traced, this is untrue all a VPN does is add extra security making it more difficult for hackers to target internet users. A major benefit to a VPN over other security measures is that most commercial VPN’s are software that can be used on any device regardless of the make, model or operating system. Overall using a VPN is a pretty solid option when it comes to improving online security.
In regards to protecting user’s online security any suspicious links or emails should be avoided, this is a common type of cyber crime called phishing. Phishing is a tactic that uses things such as fake emails and links from reputable companies in order to obtain users personal information. A great way to determine if the email is reputable is to look for things such as spelling errors or unprofessional sentence structure. Also if the email is asking for things such as your social security number, bank account or passwords then it is most likely a phishing tactic. Unless specified directly by the company most businesses will never ask for personal information over an email. If a user does become the victim of this type of cyber crime, then the best course of action would be to contact and freeze all your accounts and change passwords immediately to minimize the damage.
Security breaches are not always targeted at individual people, but an organization that hold millions of people’s private information. These kinds of security breaches happen all of the time but may not gain headlines unless the company fails to keep it under wraps. When a company is infiltrated by a group of cyber criminals the people who get their information compromised often have to wait until the company can confirm that their information was taken. An example of this was Equifax in 2017, “inadequate network segmentation, and a lack of encryption for personally sensitive information” (tech,2017). Equifax spent a total of 87million dollars to repair the breach. This can take a long period of time and damage to the reputation of the company can be impactful to future success. When entering your personal information be careful and make sure that things such as your credit card are not saved on the company’s websites. The only option when purchasing items online from a vendor is to trust that security is at the focus of their operation and that your information will be maintained in a secure manner.
Many companies are aware of the amount of risk associated with using the internet and are taking steps to actively make it safer. More companies are using encryption to protect user’s personal data. The reason why encryption is so effective in preventing theft is that the data is scrambled into unusable information and can only be accessed easily by whoever possesses an encryption key. This key is an algorithm that takes the unusable data and sorts it back into he original message. Encryption is not always full proof however, if the encryption is weak or someone obtains that key then encryption can be bypassed. Although or society is becoming more digitalized than ever some companies are still opting to store confidential information as hard copies as opposed to digital ones. This severely limits the backlash the company would receive if they were to have a security breach in their system. It is extremely rare but even hard copies are susceptible to theft whether it is by an employee or a break in to the company. No security system or program will ever be flawless when it comes to protecting information, with enough perseverance and resources any system can be vulnerable to a breach.
Something that is becoming more common as systems get more complex and have many areas that could be vulnerable is white hat hacking. Unlike the cybercriminal who want to breach systems to use and sell what is stored on them, white hat hackers look to test security by attempting to hack into it. These white hat hackers could be reformed hackers and companies hire them to try and breech their systems and identify vulnerabilities in their cyber security. This career can be very lucrative for someone who was once on the other side of the cyber security game. White hat hackers can be an invaluable tool for a corporation to utilize as they are familiar with the different types of security breech’s that black hat hackers attempt. Ultimately this type of security testing is effective but not guaranteed as new techniques are developed daily and the game is always evolving.
In conclusion the security on the internet is an ever changing game of finding the appropriate level of security and hackers developing new ways to breech that security. Internet security is every personnel person’s responsibility and there are several programs you can use or purchase to assist with that, however in the end the individual has to take the basic steps to ensure they are protected. That protection comes from maintaining solid passwords and limiting exposure from public Wi-Fi as it leaves you vulnerable to attacks. In addition, there are other security steps that can be taken like using firewalls or VPNs as additional layers of security however the average consumer tends to get lost or confused when interacting with these types of measures. The real key to internet security is similar to everything in life it is a gut feeling if you are being asked to provide information that seems excessive for what you are doing online than it very well could be a hacker trying to get your information. In the end internet security is no guarantee no matter how reputable a company is or how secure you think you feel the preventative measures such as changing passwords regularly and not using the same password for multiple logins goes a long way to keeping you secure. As everyone’s life becomes more digitized by the day internet security will only become more paramount. Just as people secure their homes and personnel belongings people have to assume the same level of care and security with their online personnel information. The attempt to stay one step ahead of the hackers is difficult but a requirement in the long run as one lapse can cause years of headaches trying to recover from a security breach.