Dangers of Modern Technology

The technology used everyday could easily be hacked in a blink of the eye. In an article, from the ProQuest database, "CyberAnarchism, WikiLeaks and Computer Warfare: The Unprecedented Dangers Associated with Information Technology Today", we are told how something so complicated can be destroyed so easily.

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Question 1) Why are computers, that are so powerful and advanced, susceptible to hacking?
            Not all people are prepared for computers, and it has led to many cyber attacks. Even people who know the in-and-outs of computers can easily be attacked, "The Age of Computers has come upon the world in so rapid, open, inherently vulnerable a way. The enthusiastic adoption of the Internet and of continuously developing electronic devices has swept all before it, coming at the expense of such things as rampant identity-theft, planting of "cookies" inside personal computers, countless scams, international hacking, even (as we've seen) cyber sabotage, cyber espionage and cyber warfare." Technology developed too quickly before we could fully understand and protect ourselves from the danger that comes with it. I think that people should focus more efforts on making computers safer, before they develop the technology them any farther.

Question 2) How is our culture/system so easily wrecked by cyber attacks?

            You wouldn't think of it, but many things in our every day routines run on vulnerable technology; "such things as the transport of food to our supermarkets, the functioning of our water-delivery and sanitation systems, the intricate interactions of our financial banking business economy, our cell phones and personal computers and other means of communication, all of the main means of transportation, the supplying of electricity to homes and businesses, and endless others. If these were to shut down, not only would people starve within a relatively short time, but absolute social chaos would set in" The things people take for granted would be gone, and panic would overcome the population who had no organization or structure. I believe that there should be a backup plan for if something like this were to happen today. Otherwise we would be left vulnerable and confused if this happened.

Question 3) Are individuals, with their medical or personal technology safe from hackers?
             No, any individual with some kind of personal technology "are susceptible to assassination: medical devices - such things as insulin pumps, pacemakers, implantable heart defibrillators, intravenous drips, and oxygen systems - can be hacked remotely. 'A real attack could cause the device's battery to drain, rendering it useless, or cause it to administer an inappropriate electric shock to a patient's heart.'" Many people trust these kinds of things far too much, while really, they can easily be turned against you. After learning about this I wish that people had a first line of defense for their personal medical devices. Something like an electronic field that repels hackers and viruses.

Future Research - In the future I plan on researching safety benefits of technology.