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The best traps are the most convincing, the Nigerian royalty email scams had a good run, but
phishing has gotten the best of thousands, if not millions, of internet users because it dupes us
with convincing emails and login pages from authorities we trust, like our banks. It takes our
human element of the fast-paced, get-it-done, environment we are so accustomed to with the
updates, emails, and messages that clutter our devices and makes us susceptible to social
engineering. By the time we have even noticed it, the damage is and has been done,
sometimes with irreversible consequences. The worst part might be finding and bringing the
perpetrators of the attacks to justice. In December, the Target breach celebrates an
anniversary, and the number and severity of such hacks has increased and been brought to the
public’s attention. Even though we’ve chose to vilify and caricaturize the basement hackers and
G-men who hunt our devices, we do little to make their jobs even slightly more difficult. Backing
up files, implementing tougher passwords, ensuring we sign into encrypted websites, and
properly reviewing our installations are easy, relatively quick ways to insure our security.

Yet, few could hardly say things are looking up in the security world. This isn’t because we don’t
fear hackers, or the possibility of our data being stolen and at the helm of other individuals, who
have a slim probability of being caught for their crimes. It’s our dependency on opening, closing,
saving, and using our products at the fastest rate possible. Passwords themselves are a hassle,
encryption is another obstacle between us and our work, two-factor authentication doesn’t have
enough utility for its “safety,” and reliance on software, prone to the same vulnerabilities as our
own systems, to detect our threats has rendered the general populace “security illiterate.”

Scapegoats have included Congress and Corporations, but the solution to adequate
cybersecurity ultimately rests with consumers themselves, who must make it a priority for users
to familiarize themselves with the most basic of security practices, only then can we maintain
reasonable assurance for our information.

If we’ve learned anything from the countless cyber-attacks, crime, and espionage that has
ensued in the past year, we know that no one, not governments, not corporations, and certainly
not any of us, are immune to the growing and resilient vulnerabilities that our technology faces.
The problem cannot be attributed to a single source, as users we demand efficiency, and at the
fastest rates possible. The developers and product managers in the security industry are
hustling to reinforce the same stronger protective systems, of which many become obsolete and
face pricey updates and fixes. What is needed is a new form of security, a pioneering system
that allows every party, from the product designers to the end users to compromise their time for
security. Until then, expect side-by-side linear increases in user efficiency and cyber-attacks.

About the Author

Arman Sidhu is a political commentator based in Phoenix, AZ, USA, he writes
with a focus on contemporary issues ranging from technology governance to
international relations. He is a former Reagan Fellow at the Goldwater Institute.

77 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – December 2014 Edition
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