Move 1: What is Cyber Security?
Look at the world today, everything you do, say, see. It is all part of one big puzzle, one that is constantly being solved by one person or another. What if everything you did was being monitored, as if someone was watching you, they could see anything you do? In fact, it is. His name is Big Brother, also known as the NSA (National Security Agency), CSS (Central Security Service) , FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) , and the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), or overall the United States government. My goal is tell you about this information and to explain how security in general works, telling you how vulnerable you are, not only from the government but from the average everyday people. Your credit card information, computer information, webcams, personal information is never really safe.
NSA HEADQUATERS
Hello my name is Christopher Tomes I decided to write about cyber security because the topic has always been an interest to me. The future of the world will rely on computer and staying safe online, in the general public and through government agencies is a key to the future. If the world wants to move forward we have to work together and not cause conflict between each other, cyber defense is one step forward to doing this. The less conflict we have the faster we can progress. Many companies data is being stolen through hackers, mainly in China and their products are being reproduced and sold as knockoffs. I hope you enjoy reading my paper on cyber security and you gain an interest in it like I have.
Through doing Capstone I have learned a lot about my topic and am more interested in it than I have thought. Computers are the future of the world and it is a matter of the future generation to learn about them and how to prevent threats in the United States and in other parts of the world. Terrorists use computers and phones to communicate. There threats can easily be stopped with the correct precautions being put in place. The bombing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was prevented because the FBI knew to look on a certain forum and knew who the person was and they could stop him preventing a terrorist attack. I think I will continue to learn about cyber security in the future as it is an interesting topic and a unique one as it is just becoming a thing in the general population of the world.
About the Author and Final Thoughts
Questions with a Professional
While researching this topic I wanted to interview someone that had great experience in this field and would help me understand more about the field. My English teacher, Mr. Inouye, found E.J. Hilbert a cyber security professional that worked at the F.B.I. and currently works for a private company that helps other companies keep their data secure. I asked E.J. Hilbert eight questions of which ranged from what he does personally to even more specific questions such as what his thoughts on Snowden are and how America’s international relations with other countries in relation to cyber security and keeping government information secure.
Where do you see network security in the future? Should we be worried with countries causing conflicts within each other through technology?
“Future wars will be fought via networks. Controlling and manipulating communication is going to be a key part. It's cheesy reference, but the movie Independence Day from 1996 kind of nailed it. A computer virus to knock out communications and power system can defeat the strongest army. No matter how big and strong you are, a few lines of code ( a virus) can take you out faster than any guns or bombs.”
Terrorists are said to be using encrypted phones and Tor to communicate about their attacks securely. Is the United States able to keep up with their motives as they are said to be a “secure” way to communicate and remain anonymous?
“Adversaries have always used some form of encryption to hide their plans. Nowadays is no different save for we are talking about electronic data. And no the US can not keep up. There is simply too much data and not enough people to sift through it. As Such the government tries to focus its approach by targeting known bad actors. But all the tech in the world will never equal some highly placed human assets. People who are on the inside who want to make a change not through violence but through cooperation.
This does not mean that our national security requires the government to have backdoors into systems. The potential for abuse is too high. Forcing companies to give up other people’s secrets is not something that should beallowed to happen without extraordinary and verified circumstances being presented”
Coming from a background in computers and working in the FBI you may consider him a reliable man. The truth is you can’t trust everyone. Sometimes there are reasons people and agencies do not want you to know things and for good reasons. It is just a matter of time before someone exposes things that shouldn’t be known. This would be the case for Snowden. He saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. Knowing his consequences himself, but presenting himself as an innocent person. Snowden had no good intentions of leaking documents, he knew it would spark conflict. But sometimes it is better if that conflict is left settled in the dust.
Cyber Security in Today's World
The United States Government, tries to hide things from the American people, also known as Government censorship. Their reasoning is to keep the people safe from threats from outside or inside the country. Some people such as Edward Snowden, being one of many people believe that the government should not censor what people say or do not only in real life, but more specifically on the Internet.
Known as the most wanted man in the world, Edward Snowden is an American system administrator that worked for the National Security Agency. In 2006 Snowden attended a job fair on intelligence agencies, the Central Intelligence Agency hired him and he began working in the global communications division at their main headquarters in Langley, Virginia. That same year he was featured in an Ars Technica article saying that he was on one of the top computer teams in the country and he went to train for six months with the CIA’s school for technology specialists.
Which countries are worse and more belligerent in terms of collecting our data? And what is their overall goal?
“China has long stolen data from American companies in order to provide that data to Chinese companies. Those Chinese companies in turn will try to make the product thus eliminating the need to buy the products from the West. This will mean more money for the Chinese companies and Chinese government. But China is not the only country doing this, the US and Russia fought each other for years regarding weapons designs and other countries see the theft of intellectual property (the instructions on how to make things) as a viable way to
help their countries rather than try to invent things themselves. Corporations will also steal data from rival corporations. The goal is always to minimize the cost of production thus maximizing profits. But, if you have ever followed the instructions on how to build something like an IKEA table or chair, they are not complete. They give you the basics but not everything you need to truly make a solid product. Intellectual Property is a bit like those instruction manuals, the basics are written down but the builder, baker, architect, engineer always have something extra that makes the product become perfect. So stealing the design rather than creating the design will always be second rate. In the short run you might make money because you can make it cheaper, but cheaper usually means it falls apart easier or doesn’t last as long. Think of it this way, if you or your family need to be protected from a fire by being wrapped in a special fire blanket do you want the one produced and perfected by the company that designed it, or the blanket created from stolen plans that are 3 years old and may not use all the same materials identified by the designers.”
