No Guarantees

The world of cybersecurity has drastically changed since the 1980’s. Back then a hacker was most likely someone that worked hard to find solutions to problems, not an evil actor out to get your information, and even if it did have the latter connotation it didn’t much matter; information was supposed to be free anyway. Now, information is nearly currency; if there is any type of data or secrets leak companies will shut down development operations for as long as it takes to fix and secure, whether or not there is a even a whisper of a hacker. In the 1980’s you didn’t have people dedicated to ensuring security, as long as your passwords weren’t the default passwords that came with the computer you were probably fine. Whereas now, not only are there security departments, there are entire companies that are dedicated to cybersecurity.

While the everyday person’s data doesn’t include high profile secrets that concern national security they should still concern themselves with the security of their data. In the current climate of technology not only do individuals need to worry about their data getting into the hands of hackers, but also what information they give to companies. Since much of our data now lies in the hands of companies we are reliant on them to be secure; but far, far too many aren’t. Even if you have a password that isn’t used anywhere else, if you don’t have multi-factor authentication then you are at risk of having your data stolen. There are plenty of things that individuals can and should do to protect themselves and their data, but there are no guarantees of safety and security as long as we are connected to the internet.