Cyber Security

Humans have become increasingly dependent on technology over the past 20 years. Nearly every career requires the ability to interface with a computer to some degree. Not having a cell phone by the time you turn 17 is considered strange. As technology becomes more ingrained in our society we are increasingly at risk from cyber criminals. Computer viruses have caused millions of dollars in damage. Cyber criminals stole the identities of at least 250,000 people in 4 months. The thing that scares me is that we know about all these things happening, but we still cannot stop them. Part of that is due to different international regulations regarding hacking. For example, Russia has a public hacking school website and a public hacking magazine that the authorities do not monitor or regulate. In Bolivia it is only illegal to hack into another Bolivian’s computer or account; this gives Bolivians free license to hack American, European and many other accounts. The other part of this is that the hackers are working on the newest technology, the stuff that hasn’t been tested yet. My personal opinion is to make yourself harder to hack than the next guy. Use good passwords, update your software, stay away from suspicious sites and use an anti-virus program. This is like locking the doors and turning on the alarm in your home when you leave. No one would leave their home unlocked while they’re gone for a weekend trip, so don’t leave your computer open to hackers.