When choosing a topic for my blog, I instantly wanted to choose something along the lines of cybersecurity. I had already known about the demand for workers in the field, but I was curious to know as to why there was such a high demand. Also, I wanted to know how long it would take till we would have to start worrying about companies and people in general getting hacked. Although many hacks have occured in the past and still do now, there could be a time where hackers could find it even easier to hack which could become a huge issue to us. In my two previous blog posts, I went into detail about beginner hackers and how little effort is required to obtain one’s information. In my last post, specifically, I was able to find information from companies which is displayed on Google for anyone to see. If more personal information is shown to the public like that, it will come to the point where hackers will have a higher chance of breaking into systems which could make us think twice before giving information out to companies. In my upcoming research, I plan to look more into how well companies are able to secure personal information and if we should be worried about their security. From my knowledge, social media companies are often targeted and hackers have successfully been able to compromise users’ accounts. If hackers are able to figure out emails and passwords of people’s accounts, there could be a chance they could use the credentials to hack into other accounts which pertain to the victim’s. Ayisha’s blog post which is an illustration made me realize that the pandemic has potentially caused even more people to join social media platforms if they haven’t done so already since it is a common form of entertainment which means that even more people could potentially be involved in hacks if hackers continue to target social media companies. Furthermore, Alec’s blog was entertaining for me to read, because it was a bit relatable to my topic. The evolvement of technology has not only made it dangerous for us, but it could potentially take over jobs and workers would be replaced by automation. With that being said, Alec’s blog makes me ponder if hackers could start to target robotics due to their possible vulnerabilities and be able to obtain people’s information that is placed on them. There are many other possibilities I wonder about from the comments I have received in my blog post, “Unskilled Amateurs or Dangerous Hackers, which have given me a few ideas to research more about like older generations using technology and complicated types of attacks hackers are able to do. I am glad I chose cybersecurity as my topic to research because based on a couple comments, people are not aware about what could come in the near future and how we could become victims of hackers, so I hope students are able to learn from my blog. A few other blogs have given me ideas to write in my research such as Peyton’s blog and Amy’s blog, because they talk about topics which I had no idea could involve technology and with more technology being made, the possibility of devices being hacked is increasing.

In my previous blog post, I summarized an article which went over the type of hackings beginner hackers are able to do. I wanted to have a hands-on experience, so I decided to follow a few tutorials to see what I could do. This was only for educational purposes.

Continue reading “Phishing, Vulnerabilities, and Exploits” →

In the article I read, I learned about what a script kiddie is and their level of hacking. A script kiddie is someone who is new to hacking and has little or no knowledge about it. They often rely on other people to learn how to hack and use their tools whereas a hacker does not need any guidance. Script kiddies can use scripts made by advanced hackers and by doing that, they are able to target low-level systems. Anyone is able to download the scripts and most of them are free to use. The most common attack they do is by using Social Engineering which allows them to manipulate their target(s) into giving them information.

By reading this article, I was able to have a better understanding on how people are able to get started with hacking. I believe that it has become the easiest it’s ever been to get started by searching on web browsers for scripts and finding video tutorials for help. Since it’s become easier to hack, more people will try to get involved with it which can become a serious threat to us. Although script kiddies are not as advanced as hackers, people should be careful when clicking unfamiliar links and downloading files because their personal information could be stolen.

Link to article: https://www.uscybersecurity.net/script-kiddie/

After watching a video by CNBC Television, I have learned that there are currently 2.8 million workers working in the cybersecurity field across the world. Unfortunately, four million workers are still needed for the field. Companies have been actively trying to find people who are experienced in cybersecurity, but it has been difficult for them. A guest speaker, Paul Innella, expresses that it has been a stressful time for him because he has been trying to hire people, but they either never contact him back or they just don’t show up to work after being hired. To me, it is a surprise that not a lot of experience is needed to have a job in the field, so I am not sure why there is such a high demand for workers. Having a few certifications is necessary, but a four-year degree is not. If people have many certifications or have a degree for the job, they are able to make a six-figure salary. The number of cybersecurity workers needed will definitely increase in the next few years because the current workers will not be able to keep up with the expanding amount of hackers.

Are there more hackers than cybersecurity workers? Is there currently a shortage of cybersecurity workers? Are ethical hackers doing the most they can to make sure our networks are as secure as possible? How much are companies willing to spend on their network security? Should people start researching about what security measures companies take when giving their personal information to them?

I began by searching for a theme under the mobile friendly category. Before scrolling through all the themes, I searched for a header image that would go with my topic which is cybersecurity. I chose an image which belongs to SiteLock. After that, I looked through all the different types of themes. I already knew what type of format I wanted my blog to have. I found a theme that had what I was looking for which was a dark blue background and a header image at the top. Before choosing it, I looked at the live preview to see if the colored text went well with the page. According to Everyone’s an Author, “Using color can make your writing easier—or harder—to read (748).” Because of that, I made sure that the colors were not too dark or too bright. Moreover, I also made sure that there were bold headings because “bold is generally used for headings” and it makes it easier to tell different sections apart from each other (746). Another thing I really liked about the theme I chose was that on some sections, if you hover over them, the text changes from white to red which stood out to me.

Header image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sitelock/45778097742/