Summary:
The FBI found breaches in the voter registration databases in both Illinois and
Arizona. They are pushing for an increase in computer security before the
election. While this does not necessarily signify intent to manipulate votes,
the possibility that other countries, Russia in particular, might be sponsoring
hackers in an attempt to mess with the presidential election has officials
worried. One official said that these investigative hacks might foreshadow a
larger one. The attack in Illinois was a
data breach where the personal information of around 200,000 people was taken.
The one in Arizona put malware onto a state employee’s computer. The FBI
informed the Arizona officials that the hackers were most likely Russian and
gave the hack an 8 on a scale of 1-10 in severity.
Analysis:
This article is pertinent to the lives of pretty much any American who has any
form of technology or social media. Hackers are a threat to all of us because
they can access our phones, tablets, computers, social media, etc. and find out
personal information about us that we perceive to be well hidden, when in
reality it is easily accessible. This article shows that literally nothing is
out of boundaries, with hackers accessing government information for other
countries, who most likely do not have the best intentions. This article shows
that we as a nation need to up our computer security game, whether it be
personal, corporate, or government technology. Computer security is relevant to our lives
today because we store so much information on our computers without giving a
second thought to how secure it actually is. This connects to the past because
countries have always been out to get information about other countries so that
they have a leg up on the competition. During World War II, as well as the Cold
War, America and the Soviet Union in particular employed many spies to infiltrate
and dig up dirt about what was going on in the enemy country. In present day,
hacking is yet another way that we can spy and be spied on.
I definitely agree that our personal information on our phones may not be completely personal. Hacking is becoming a big concern with all the new technology being created, and hackers breaking into voting polls is a very scary and real thing to think about.
ReplyDeleteI think that snapchat is a great example of the privacy issue. People think that what they send is not shown to anyone but who they send it to.. but the government as such easy access to it. With all the advanced technology you would assume that every information of yours would be secure..
ReplyDeleteAlthough the technology is here to stay it seems to be too vulnerable and if it could affect the outcome of our elections we should have paper back up to make sure it is correct.
ReplyDeleteI agree that security on computers is an issue greatly overlooked by many Americans. Some of us keep rather personal and embarassing things on our phones or laptops, believing that deep in a digital folder is a safe place. However, I do not actually have an abundance of vital or embarrassing information on my phone- unless you count my game save files. I can definitely see how this is a problem for many, though.
ReplyDelete-Cal Thompson
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