Safe Personal Computing to National Security :: Computers Technology Internet Essays

Safe Personal Computing to National Security Am I Safe at my computer? I’ve posed that question and others to myself many times. Are the e-mail’s I send almost daily truly secure? Are my confidential e-mails from the Ohio University’s server truly confidential? Who else can see what I see? Sure in a perfect world we all would like to believe we‘re safe but the simple fact is that we are not safe all the time and the world is not perfect. People â€Å"hack†, as it is referred to, into almost anything or anywhere. I’d like to think that most people would have the ethics not to violate my personal security, but that’s just it they don’t. This since increasingly our â€Å"e-criminal† of today has the technical skills of an adult and the ethics of a small child (Shuchman). Most astonishing of all is that this is occurring because they are small children, or teens. I choose this topic because computers, e-mail, and the World Wide Web are increasingly becoming the dominate necessity of m y daily life. I am at a computer a least three times a day for lengthy periods of time. I send out personal account information, my social security number and other important secure information across the web and not mention all the information I store my computers hard drive. So I ask once again am I safe? Hacked at Home and Nation Wide You use to only here about the â€Å"serious† e-crimes. You know the ones that try to take down the CIA or the stock exchange. Now the hackers and security risks are hitting home. In the form virus that can do anything from crippling your PC to sending in worms that eat up your files. The attacks aren’t just personal wither. In the spring of 2001 there were attacks on hundreds of personal computers connected to the web via the new broad band connections. Two attacks involving nearly 500 Windows-powered PCs with broadband connections were used to shut down a security consultant's Web site in Southern California (Thorsburg). Hundreds of home computers were seemingly recruited into some sort of malicious cyber army. This or these hackers used computer like yours and mine to work for them turn them against a larger network.