Will our reliance on technology be our downfall?

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 09:19:43 -0400

Computers and/or computer based technology have inundated our lives, from the vehicles we drive to the cell phones we use and the next big push is "the Internet of things". If it can be connected to the Internet it will be, from the thermostats that control the HVAC to the refrigerator in our home.

While designed to make our lives easier, it exposes us to risk/vulnerabilities to some miscreants, but also makes us reliant on these technologies.

What can we do to protect ourselves?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2970352/security/ten-scary-hacks-i-saw-at-black-hat-and-def-con.html#tk.rss_all

Ten scary hacks I saw at Black Hat and DEF CON

While cyber security is increasingly important, researchers show how little of it we actually have.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Aug 21 at 2015 9:24 AM

SGT Ben Keen — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 09:24:31 -0400

Sure having all this technology around is dangerous but so if everything else in life. The alternative, removing all technology, is out of the question. The best way to protect yourself is to educate yourself. Learn what can happen and what can be done to lessen your chances of that happening.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Aug 21 at 2015 9:40 AM

SSG Warren Swan — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 09:40:31 -0400

There is no real way to protect yourself other than constant vigilance and monitoring. For every protective measure there are at least two hacks to get in. And it cost way more money to protect than to break into, hence why many very good hackers are actually working for the government as contractors rather than being sent to prison. Tech is our best friend, and as we've seen in recent years, one of our worst enemies.

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Aug 21 at 2015 9:45 AM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 09:45:41 -0400

LTC Private RallyPoint Member I agree that we have been overwhelmed by the use and the technology, but that is part of growing as a society and enhancing our abilities to utilize more of our brainpower as human beings. We have evolved and will continue to evolve. Education and understanding how to use that technology is something we need to continue in our schools and with our youth. If you look at today's youth and their ability to work with computers and then you look back at (us - me and you) the end of the baby boomers look at what we have learned and where we came from with bag phones, rotary dial, and CRTs that were like giant boxes sitting on a desk! I don't think the technology will stop. I think we will see cyber wars in the future and nations toppled by technology and computers if we don't continued to learn and build for those types of future threats. There is danger when you walk out your front door in the morning or when you drive down the road in your car. We learn, we adapt, we overcome, and we move on down the road. Just image what technology will look like 40 or 50 years from now?

Response by PO1 John Miller made Aug 21 at 2015 10:01 AM

PO1 John Miller — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 10:01:18 -0400

Technology is great but I agree that we rely too much on it. Do we really need smart refrigerators, televisions, and coffee machines? WiFi in our cars? As an IT professional I agree that things are going too far!

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 21 at 2015 10:15 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 10:15:34 -0400

We do have to be careful, but as our security of technology increases (something that is also getting harder though) we can be more assured of it.

We use a quote regularly, "your technology will fail you" as a means of remembering to have a backup. In our context we usually mean the network will be down, the projector won't work, or that versions of a program won't be compatible. However, the exact same concept applies to a very advanced electronic targeting system on a rifle that could have been fired with an iron sight. We do have to make sure we don't make things overly complicated for no reason, which seems to be a hard battle to fight.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 21 at 2015 11:59 AM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 11:59:21 -0400

We are using drones' advanced technology to fight ISIS. That is our main gig.

Response by SPC Robert Patrick made Aug 21 at 2015 1:29 PM

SPC Robert Patrick — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 13:29:38 -0400

Sorry all I can say is SKYNET

Response by SSG Robert Webster made Aug 22 at 2015 12:37 PM

SSG Robert Webster — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 12:37:40 -0400

As others have noted on this thread, education is the key to resolving this issue/problem.

What bothers me about the article and the attitudes displayed by a number of our current counterparts is the apparent shifting of blame to past generations of designers and programmers. From my standpoint, instead of blaming the past, they should look at user's implementation of past technology design and programming, and the recommendations given then and now to resolve these issues.

One of the biggest security items that is apparently ignored is the closed system concept or something akin to the closed system concept that would limit access to those system through controlled portals. What is interesting from this point of view is that this type of hacking issue was ably demonstrated in the 1983 movie "WarGames".

"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Vol. 1, Reason in Common Sense (1905-1906)