It's the one modern invention that keeps on attacking...and upsetting societies with floods of misinformation that no other media has been able to match in modern times.
The internet is an evil Pandoras box that disgorges lies, filth, and hate 24-hours a day. Since the early 1990s when the internet became available in homes with dial-up internet the flow of filth has increased yearly, until now it's one of the biggest threats to our society and civilization overall.
There's no doubt in my mind Trump would not have been able to do what he has, turning our democracy into an autocracy, without the help of the internet and the bad actors who abuse it. The original intent of the internet was to allow information exchanges in real time, with a data base that included pathways to knowledge never experienced before. Mountains of information available on every possible subject was part of the package, but it came with unexpected side effects that have grown more deadly every year.
There's never been a propaganda device that can rival the internet's steady streams of lies 24 hours a day. Truth has become a casualty and people don't know what to believe anymore.
Please...don't try to sell me on the benefits of the internet. I would gladly do without it. I would happily give up blogging to see an end to this threat to civilization. I'm confident I could get by without it and so could others. We did once. Remember?
What are the risks of using the internet?
For starters, viruses and hackers. Users' personal information gets extracted by bad actors and their world is never the same after that.
* Malware, also known as malicious code or software is a constant threat.
* Ransomware. It limits users from accessing their system via malware.
* Distributed Denial of Service (DOS) attacks are also common.
* Spam and phishing are a daily challenge and if the user doesn't have protections they are going to regret it. Sometimes these precautions fail to the sophisticated attacks.
* Corporate Account Takeover (CATO) where a company gets held hostage until they pay a fee.
* Automated Teller Machine (ATM) hacked by sophisticated software.
You have to protect your children when they use the internet.
Because there are so many sites designed for kids, they also have become easy targets for bad actors. Predators prowl video games and chat rooms looking for easy victims.
It just gets worse.
Cyberbullying has led to teen suicides. Then there are hackers posting the personal information of young people that will later come back to haunt them. Teens are easily scammed. They also accidently download Malware and infect their computers.
Cyber risks users have to be aware of.
* Drive-by-Cyberattack.
* Poor cyber hygiene.
* Cloud vulnerabilities.
* Mobile device vulnerabilities.
* Poor data management.
* Inadequate post-attack procedures.
As it Stands, I firmly believe that the internet is a threat that has gotten out of hand despite its original intent to benefit mankind.
No comments:
Post a Comment