n our current culture our lives
are completely intertwined
with the thriving, evolving,
occasionally endangering monument
to information technology (IT) known
as the internet. On a daily basis we
use the internet and associated tech-
nologies for a myriad of purposes. We
use it to shop and make purchases,
send and receive e-mail, make ap-
pointments, socialize with family and
friends, visit new websites of interest,
catch up on the latest news and weath-
er, do research, conduct our banking,
download and play games, participate
in education pursuits, visit dating
sites, pay bills, engage in political
conversations — the list is seemingly
endless.
If you think about it, nearly every
aspect of our daily lives and every-
thing we do is somehow connected
with the Internet. Our work, our lei-
sure moments, our pleasure, and
our frustrations, are quite often linked
in some manner to the internet via our
computers and, increasingly, the use
of our smartphones.
How often do we reach for our
smartphones? By some estimates the
average American uses a smartphone
for some purpose every 10 minutes!
A report in Time magazine found that
“Americans collectively check their
smartphones upwards of 8 billion
times per day.” That represents a
tremendous amount of interaction
with organizations and people via the
Internet.
As we contentedly go about the dai-
ly usage of our devices, we generally
give scant thought to the dangers that
often lurk beneath the friendly and ac-
commodating surface of the Internet.
Yet hackers and other digital malefac-
tors, those with evil intent, are con-
stantly seeking to steal our personally
identifying information (PII) or breach
the security of the firms, merchants,and agencies that engage us in various
transactions.
In discussing the “Top Hacks and
Internet Breaches of 2018,” blogger
James Watson writes that, “Hundreds
of millions of people suffered at the
hands of these attacks as their sensi-
tive information and data was exposed
and sold on the dark web.” Just in the
past year, numerous big-name organi-
zations were breached and customer
data exposed.Everyone is at riskFor example, Facebook was victim-
ized by a hack that exposed 29 million
users, Google suffered a data breach
that affected 52.5 million users, and an
attack on MyHeritage pinned down 92
million users like insects trapped for a
7th-grade science project. Believe it or
not, those were the “small potatoes”
hacks.TECH KNOW
I
You’re never completely safe on the
internet but personal cybersecurity
best practices can protect youDr. Jane LeClair is President and CEO of the
Washington Center for Cybersecurity Research
& Development. The center’s mission is to serve
as a training and research organization dedicat-
ed to increasing knowledge of the cybersecurity
discipline. She currently serves on the Cybersecu-
rity Advisory Board and as Cybersecurity Program
Advisor for Thomas Edison State University. Dr.
LeClair has written and edited numerous books,
journals and articles related to cybersecurity and
nuclear technology, and is a staunch advocate for
women in technology.BY JANE LECLAIR
OH MY!
Lions Tigers
Hackers
and and