Trends in Management Technology - Assignment Example

Trends in Management Technology College Trends in Management Technology Technology has transformed the lives of people all over the world. People engage with electronic devices from the moment they get up in the morning to the moment they fall asleep. It is tough to imagine a life without technology. The changing trends in management technology have brought the science and craft of management to a whole new level. Among other departments security and intelligence have benefitted tremendously. They use tech-tools to apprehend criminals more efficiently and prevent crimes effectively. James Hunt’s report on police conferencing demonstrates how efficient the process of reporting a crime and apprehending criminals has become. He gives an example how a robbery can be reported to the police through a smartphone. For instance, the victim can dial the number of police help line, when connected with the appropriate officer, he can show the live feed of the crime scene. In a few moments, the Police can file an FIR against the criminals by taking in the fundamental facts. Later if need be, the police can simply visit the crime scene. The great thing about reporting crimes through video conferencing is beneficial to both the victim and the police. The victim can carry on with the daily work schedule without visiting the police station. The police also do not have to waste time by arranging an appointment at the vicinity to get the necessary facts. This helps the police in apprehending the criminals in less time. Such video conferencing will soon turn into a reality for the California law enforcement (Hunt, 2010). For that to happen they need fast video streaming. Fortunately, they already have such a setup that can handle huge amount of data at very high speed. Video conferencing technology is not only helpful in reporting a crime but also in its prevention. Say, a robbery is in progress and a person calls the police department and gives them the live feed of the crime scene. The police can immediately analyze the video and react accordingly. It is like having a CC TV footage that the criminals would be unaware of. According to a survey of 2008, 96% of all Californian households had broadband technology (Hunt, 2010). It makes life easier for both the residents and the police. Communication with the police department will be much faster through the broadband. The upsurge in the number of internet users is also encouraging; the 2009 survey conducted by Public Policy Institute of California reveals that 76% of Californians use internet, up from 70% the previous year (Hunt, 2010). This is like having a personal ‘portal’ that directly connects the crime scene (in case there is an incident in the house) to the police department. The article by James Hunt is balanced in the sense that it also highlights the problems with the internet usage. People who cannot use the internet (for any reason like unfamiliarity or inability to purchase internet) will be the favorite targets of criminals. The income divide of California poses a problem. Only 58% of households with incomes under $40,000 use the internet (Hunt, 2010). Hence, to effectively implement videoconferencing protocols, addressing the issue of income divide holds primary importance. The report by National White Collar Crime Center (2011) addresses the misuse of technology. Cybercrimes are on the rise and people who indulge in such ventures are usually very smart programmers/hackers. Social media is among their favorite tools to fulfill their criminal plans. Social media is used for social networking; websites that allow individuals and businesses to create a profile on their web space. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the best networking media platforms with millions of users. Burglars use social media by exploiting the information available there. If a person posts that he/she will be out for the evening, a burglar reading this will consider this an opportunity to steal or rob something. Users are not very careful about sharing their personal information on social media (NWCC, 2011). Sometimes it is not the user’s fault that they become the victims of burglary. Websites like Gowalla and foursquare are location based networks (NWCC, 2011). These social networks reward their users for posting their locations. When someone uploads their status that they are having dinner at a restaurant, the website will reward them by giving them brownie points or a fancy title but the burglars would know that this person’s house will be empty. Social engineering is another technique popular among cybercriminals. It is a manipulation tactic of influencing an online group of people to meet economic or political ends (NWCC, 2011). At a relatively smaller level, this means to exploit human psychology to retrieve information. The cybercriminal would fake the identity of a friend and would ask for a loan from the ‘friend’. This ‘friend’ would later find out that his real friend never asked him for any money. And the money he transferred went to some other person’s account. Phishing is also a commonly used version of social engineering. ‘Hacking’ information such as’ passwords, account numbers etc. to forge an identity is the simplest explanation of phishing. The term has been coined by the technique of ‘fishing’. The perpetrators send out millions of emails asking for information in hopes of getting a few ‘bites’ (NWCC, 2011). It is not very effective in retrieving information as the victimization rate clocks in 0.5% to 1% range (NWCC, 2011). But this low success rate does not hamper the criminals’ efforts. The increase in phishing attacks is alarmingly high. Malware and virus attacks are equally dangerous as they leave the victim almost helpless. The victim does not necessarily make a mistake. Social media is the most common place to retrieve a virus in an operating system (OS). When users click on links and attachments on social media there is a likelihood that this can download a virus on their device. The consequences include adware and viruses that damage the data on their device. Survey conducted by Sophos, an antivirus developer, suggest that 72% of 500 organizations surveyed reported a threat from social networking websites. The two articles discussed here show two opposite sides of technology. One shows how technology can effectively improve crime rate. The other suggests how easy it is for cybercriminals to abuse the freedom of social media to commit crimes. It is reasonable to assume that the law enforcement bodies will need to stay two steps ahead of the criminals exploiting technology. This is the only way they can effectively beat the cybercriminals at their game. References Hunt, J. (2010) Video-conference police reporting reducing personnel costs and still providing personal services. Command College Class. Monrovia Police Department. NWCC (2011) Criminal use of social media. National White Collar Crime Center: Research Section. Bureau of Justice Assistance U.S. Department of Justice. Read More