Internet Security Advantages - Essay Example

Pros and Cons within Internet Security

Today, we can undeniably admit that the internet has become an extension of people’s lives. We have ventured into an era of cyber-security when individuals and corporates depend heavily on machine learning algorithms as a first step defense against hackers. With the prevalence of Artificial Intelligence-powered attacks, a shortage of IT security talent, and an explosion of Internet-connected devices, it’s going to take the speed of machines to counteract this perfect storm increased internet threats (Kira Goldring, 2020). A lot of tasks transactions nowadays are performed online, using mobile phones, laptops, desktops, and tablets. Internet security has become a crucial topic of discussion due to the rampant evolution in technology that has led to the inception of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning. Although the internet has brought tremendous progress in business transactions, data protection against theft, introduced the Internet of Things (IoT) that have made life more comfortable and has enhanced information retrieval, its security has attracted many critics and debates. This is based on the fact that people’s privacy is at risk, there has been a tremendous rise in cyber-crime, and that the recent claims that internet is used for surveillance business. By discussing the pros and cons of internet, this paper will successfully address the importance of internet security.

Pros within Internet Security

Today, thanks to the internet, businesses are conducted on a global scale. Large amounts of information and data that otherwise would pose a challenge in storing manually can now easily be stored on computerized devices. According to Hawkins, Yen, & Chou, (2000) the internet has led to the emergence of e-commerce. Businesses have expanded their operations to meet the needs of consumers as well as increase their market share. Due to the evolution in technology and rise of AI-powered systems, companies’ data are at risk whenever they are exposed to the internet; and hence there is need to protect their data and networks against possible intrusion (Hawkins, Yen, & Chou, 2000). Internet security is an important issue today. Currently there are many technologies that provide an array of security measures to enable secure data sharing and storage. Businesses have created websites, where their consumers select a product, make payments, and wait for their item to be delivered without visiting the shops.

The use of passwords, encryption, firewalls, and private networks have ensured that data remain secure from third party access. When a business is connected to the internet, every cyberspace user will gain access to its website, which makes it vulnerable to hackers and malicious activities. Therefore, the business needs a strong protection mechanism to ensure that the company website is secure. Every business and operations must stay vigilant and prepared for security threats which have become inevitable in the 21st century. According to Ouaddah, Mousannif, Elkalam, & Ouahman, (2017) businesses and organizations collect data from people registering on their websites and use the information for authentication and verification during transactions. Secure networks have ensured that business transactions thrive in between retailers and consumers.

Due to the large amounts of data collected from cyberspace users, internet security has come to play key role in ensuring the information of users is protected. As Ouaddah and Mousannif elaborate, the number of connect devices and users has dramatically elevated over the past decade, and this evaluates to a lot of data circulating on the internet (Ouaddah and Mousannif, 2017). Every day, billions of people globally trust the internet by sharing ideas, carrying out monetary transactions, and interacting with relatives and friends. As Misra and Hashmi (2017) indicate, internet users trust online platforms in sending and storing personal medical data, corporate networking, as well as intimate conversations. Hawkins, S., Yen, D. C., & Chou, D. C. (2000) support that the growth of the internet and artificial intelligence are dependent on availability of huge amounts of data collected from its users. People entrust internet with their privacy, which in return assures the protection of these privacy, hence creating an interdependency state.

The other essence of the internet is its creation of Internet of Things (IoT). According to Misra and Hashmi (2017), IoT involves the collection of internet-enabled smart devices that are capable of communicating, storing, processing, and providing useful information for their users. Everywhere around the world, people possess and use smart devices for a lot of transactions, communication, and information storage. Individuals can conduct businesses, financial transactions, and survey from the comfort of their homes, all thanks to the internet security measures in place that facilitate such operations. The usability of the IoTs is easier and recommendable based on the fact that the data collected from the end users is minimal, and easily regulated. Ouaddah and Elkalam, (2017) illustrate that most of the smart devices are programmed to enable their users to set the quantity of data that the devices can collect from them.

The internet has facilitated the storage and retrieval of information that would otherwise be difficult to keep track. The internet is used as a secret-keeper, as people and corporates prefer to store confident and vital information with the internet than with other people. With development of backup programs such as Microsoft OneDrive, Cobian Backup, Cloud, and Google Drive, information can be backed up, synced, and shared after a long time. According to Pearson (2013), such backup and storage-enabled programs such as such cloud computing not only ensure the privacy of data, but it also avail substantial amount of data in the form of a pool. Large files can be stored for a long as the user wants with the help of internet secured websites and programs. Therefore every aspect of our lives are inevitably becoming dependent on the internet.

Cons within Internet Security

Cybersecurity is becoming a continuously pressing discussion today. In today’s era of Artificial Intelligence and deep learning, internet user have given up fundamental aspects of their privacy for convenience in using their smart phones and computers, which become essential data for the growth of the internet. As Liz Mineo (Harvard Staff Writer) stresses, people have reluctantly accepted that being monitored by corporations and even governments is part of modern technology-propelled society (Harvard Gazette 2017). As mentioned earlier, breaching of people’s privacy, rise in cyber-crime, and the recent claims that internet is used for surveillance business justify how the internet has become a disobedient and shrewd servant.

A person’s privacy is sacred and cannot be shared to a third party without one’s consent. The recent incidents have indicated that the internet and service providers such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter are in possession of people’s data. As Kaplan (2015) discusses, the recent technological advancements have seen data and Artificial Intelligence being inseparable entities. Artificial Intelligence and deep learning cannot thrive without being fed with substantial amounts of data. Data is everything AI requires in order to function (Kaplan 2015; Frontline, 2019). Human beings are endowed with data in everything they do. A massive amount of data is generated from routine actions and daily behaviors without our consent. The information people post on social media, and during registration on websites becomes important data for deep learning and algorithms for the AI.

Tegmark (2017), indicates that humans have become the main source of data that is vital for the growth and expansion of the internet. This has left people’s privacy vulnerable to getting breached by a third party. The internet is in continuous monitoring and collection of every bit of personal data that is collected from the consumers. Every piece of data loaded into computers become an essential point of learning for programs. Currently, once a large amount of data is collected and uploaded to a computer system, the system starts learning from the data and then use it to provide better service to humanity (Frontline, 2019). However, evidence has it that people’s personal data is used by corporates and governments to create people’s profile. For instance, when Google was developed, it did not have a clear business model, and the founders had remained public about their antipathy toward advertising. However, with the rise of the dot-com era in the early 2000s, things started changing, as Google investors pressed for more finances from the company. Increased pressure from the stakeholders saw the corporation establish business model that involved collecting personal data, in order to remain relevant in the market (Frontline, 2019; Misra and Hashmi, 2017). Google discovered that users left behind traces while surfing through Google’s search engine, and decided to convert these substantial data into sources for deep learning and prediction of human behavior.

The number of cybercrimes today has increased in the age of AI. Personal data and people’s privacy have found themselves in hands of black hackers and criminals who use the information for their benefits. As Dieter Holger (2018) states, when people consume a free service, such as “free” Wi-Fi, there’s a good chance it’s managed by a third-party provider—which gets the user online in exchange for his/er valuable sign-on data. The sign-on information that such services request often include email address, phone number, social media profile, place of residence, among other personal information. The information is then converted into a personal profile for the individual user, when can be shared for financial gain.

Currently corporates and service providers such as Google, Facebook, and other social network providers apply the business model of learning from and then predicting their users’ profiles and interests, having created individual private profiles (The Harvard Gazette, 2017). The business model is a form of ‘soft’ crime as people’s data is used by the social network providers for self-gain, against the user’s permission. Every piece of data collected contains behavioral characteristics of high predictive value that is important for system learning.

Finally, observations indicate that governments and businesses are in continuous surveying and monitoring of the citizens daily. In an interview with the Harvard Gazette, Bruce Schneier who is a cybersecurity expert indicated that surveillance is the business model of today’s internet (Harvard Gazette, 2017). Everywhere across the United States and the world individuals are under a under constant surveillance by government operations, businesses, social networking companies, and cellphone providers. They have focused on collecting people’s information, which is then compiled, analyzed, and used in advertising and predicting people’s behaviors. The reason today there are infinite number of network service providers is because their main aim is to collect as much private information as they can from their users. The companies utilize personalized advertising in making money, and hence they offer free services that attract people to provide personal details in the process.

In conclusion, the internet has become both an advantage and disadvantage over the last decade. Internet is all about collecting and sharing data. Internet has facilitated the growth and expansion of businesses (through e-commerce), data protection against theft, introduced Internet of Things (IoT) that have made life easier, and has enhanced information retrieval. Data sharing has made the internet and AI to grow exponentially within a short time. However, the issue of internet security is still tainting the image of the advantages associated with the internet. Some of the identified cons of internet and development of artificial intelligence include breaching of people’s privacy, a tremendous rise in cyber-crime, and its use for surveillance businesses. Having discussed the above pros and cons related to internet, AI, and internet security, we have shown the importance of internet security.