Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Published 10:25 AM by Phuc Nguyen with 2 comments

CYBER SECURITY AND HUMAN MISTAKES

In recent years, cyber security has become a popular topic. The government worries confidential data could be hacked by outsiders. Businesses and people are constantly reminded of new security technology to protect their data. Many hackers now, thanks to many popular social network websites, can organize themselves and attack their targets more frequently.

Some hacking examples include the recent NSA classified documents released to the public. Edward Snowden is one of the CIA and NSA employees and also a computer specialist. The leaked documents reveal a global surveillance program that these agencies use for many years. People are concerned greatly about the effect of this program on privacy rights.

Another example is Target breach to its customer personal information. Some hackers use a vendor's credentials to gain access to Target's computer system. After they gained access, the customer database was hacked. Target later reported that customer personal information such as name, address, credit card numbers were taken. This incident puts Target in a difficult spot and at the same time warns other businesses to better improve their security systems.

Lastly, Facebook hacking happens more frequently than we think. Many Facebook user accounts have been hacked and taken advantage by Facebook apps. These apps use Access Token to gain access to Facebook API which returns user personal information and the privilege to post on their behalf.

There are no certain ways to protect user data as long as human mistakes happen. Notice in the first example, Edward Snowden obviously has access to the CIA server. And in the last example Facebook users voluntarily accept apps' access to their account. These human mistakes can be prevented if people learn how to safeguard their online data better.
References

Harris, E. A., & Perlroth, N. (2014, 03 13). Target Missed Signs of a Data Breach. Retrieved from NYTimes.com: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/business/target-missed-signs-of-a-data-breach.html

Perkel, J. (2010, 04 28). Cybersecurity: How safe are your data? Retrieved from Nature News: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100428/full/4641260a.html

Risen, J. (2013, 09 28). N.S.A. Gathers Data on Social Connections of U.S. Citizens. Retrieved from NYTimes.com: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/us/nsa-examines-social-networks-of-us-citizens.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0


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2 comments :

  1. UnknownMarch 12, 2014 at 12:35 PM

    Cyber security is definitely becoming an important issue right now. While people spend more and more time on the technology, the more opportunities the hackers get to attack their targets. The leaked customer personal information can do serious harm to the business if its not handled properly. Therefore it is extremely important to improve our cyber security and protect confidential information.
    In addition, it will be very helpful if you could provide some tips to enhance cyber security.

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  2. UnknownMarch 16, 2014 at 3:58 PM

    I liked your article Phuc, I just feel like you should go into how you could enhance your own personal security. I know a lot of people tend to use common passwords such as "asdf" or "asdf1234" these passwords do more harm since they're so common. I feel what would enhance your article is how people can avoid having their information stolen.

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