Fighting viruses, defending the net

Posted by & filed under Artificial intelligence, business models, Cloud Computing, cyber terroism, cyber war, Cyberforensics, data analytics, IS ethics.

Source: Ted.com.

Date: July, 2011



Questions for discussion:

  1. Is this technical threat a manageable risk for the modern organization?  How would one manage theses risks

2.  Should this threat be managed by governments or by the private sector?  Why?

15 Responses to “Fighting viruses, defending the net”

  1. Austen Murray

    (Answer to question #2)
    The internet is a astonishing accomplishment, there is no doubt in my mind about that. However, it does serve many threats, which this video is addressing. The government is more than capable to protect us from these threats, but the private sector can handle it as well. The government will always keep a close watch on progress, but a company hired to do the job will suffice. It takes constant man power to do this job, the government already has enough on their plate. Hiring a private sector would get real people involved with the battle and create more jobs for a struggling economy. If the government were just to get solely involved it would leave people in the dark. In order to conquer this threat everyone must be aware of this situation. The internet can be made a better place, it would take cooperation from everyone. The private sector would be able to do this better because they could have more manpower and a drive for one goal only, and that protecting the internet. The government already has too much to worry about, let them worry about something else. while a large private sector company does the job while putting money in many people’s pockets.

  2. Jenny Tashiro

    I think the threat of hackers and viruses should be managed by the government because it is such a large issue and because they should have better access to different computer problems with the ability to shut it down at the source before it becomes an even larger problem. With that said, I don’t think the government would put that high on their priority list and probably have larger problems to worry about; therefore, I think that a private sector would be a better fit to manage these threats. When it is a private sector working on the issue, they are better experts and would be more knowledgeable in that area and would be able to give the issue more attention. The speaker for example, he knows a lot about virus and it sounds like he spends most of his time and energy into decoding and defending the internet as best as he can. If these private sectors can do the same, it would make it harder for people to create these threats and less of them would be out there and it wouldn’t be appealing to try to make it a way of income. Also, if these private sectors could develop a way to make it harder for people to make new threats, it would help decrease the ones coming through each day.

  3. Sam Chen

    Even though I know there are a lot of computer viruses existed in the computer world when people access internet, it is still very hard to think the impact of computer virus is so important and serious for most people. Most people might know the function and the danger of viruses, but they never have a personal serious problem that causes by computer viruses. Hence, most people would just ignore this topic until they lost some important stuff such as personal information, credit card number, password and more by effecting computer viruses. However, compare to two decades most viruses are written by interested, fun and self-satisfaction from teenager. For these viruses, they won’t steal computer users’ information; they just make some funny picture, sound, animation on computer. No matter two decades ago or now computer viruses are both crimes, but modern computer viruses are usually for gaining personal-benefits by illegal way. This is a big problem that is existed in the world. As I know the most serious computer viruses news in my country (Taiwan) is cause by a person named Ying-Hou Chen. His viruses make 60 million computers crashing down in 1998. Clearly, Internet is like a sword which can benefit us and also hurt us.

  4. moire

    The tools modern organizations have to manage virus threats are firewalls, backing up data, eliminating backdoors, and up to date anti-virus software. It does not seem that these tools are adequate enough to deal with the growing virus threat. I don’t believe that modern organizations can manage the threat as tens of thousands of viruses are being created every second around the world. In addition, the monetary return for such crime where criminals are rarely found is enormous. This problem is not going to go away and it is getting harder and harder to control. A global authority needs to be created to deal with this global criminal issue. I believe the government has the global reach and authority needed to create a global authority to capture and prevent criminals from infecting computers with viruses. Part of the Canadian government’s role is to protect businesses so they can prosper, benefit and sustain the Canadian economy. I believe the government would be the best authority to deal with this problem because the private sectors interest would be purely on the basis of profit and self-interest. In addition, I don’t believe that the private sector could have the global reach that the government already has. The government already has a global network communication system in place and this could be used to protect the continuation of the Internet.

  5. Yanmei Sun

    (Answer to question #1)
    In my opinion, the reason why there is a computer network vulnerability, mainly due to the existence of security weaknesses in the technology itself, system security, and the lack of security practices.With the personal computer, computer network, Internet and e-commerce to flourish,hackers, viruses, or even human error have already become a huge threat to the network. If we don’t protect them properly,the technology will be increasingly vulnerable to the dangers of destructive attacks. There are some technical support strategies that I think could help people manage the risks.First,encryption.The network information in general is the use of information transformation rules to express the information into ciphertext message. Encryption can be effective against interception, unauthorized access and other threats.Second,use the digital signature.Digital signature using a data exchange protocol, making the sending and receiving data between the parties to meet two conditions: the recipient can identify the identity of the sender claims; after the sender can not deny the fact that he sent a data.The last one is firewall.I believe in the future, more and more new technology will protect people against the latest security threats and attacks.

  6. Pulkit Arora

    The government instead of the private sector should manage the threat of viruses and other hackers. If private sectors are the ones controlling them, they could be bribed or make the consumers pay a ridiculous fee for their services in order for them to be virus free. On the other hand, if the government has full control of this, they would charge a reasonable price for their services and the hackers can less easily bribe them. The government also has unlimited amount of access to equipment that is needed and the money that is needed for the services that they would provide. Also, if the government was the one controlling this, they would hire knowledgeable people and most people would rather work a company that is ‘good’ rather than ‘bad’. The government could have extensive research on how to increase the security on the Internet and detect viruses or hackers right away rather than until they have already hacked into your account. Although the government would increase the tax, I think every person would be willing to pay that tax if it means his or her personal information is secure on the Worldwide Web.

  7. Sydney D

    I believe that companies that have enough concern about a virus attacking their network system will do something about it. They have the options to purchase anti-virus software and malware protection. This is the bare minimum abe they can can go further such as a firewall. Depending on how important the information is that you are protecting, the further you may want to go. Hackers, however will get information if they want it. I believe they will find a way if they think that the information will benefit them. There are ways to manage the attacks, but I do not think that there will ever be a way to completely banish the attacks.

    Of course if an online criminal is caught, government officials should step in. I believe that online criminals should receive the same punishment as any other criminal. Finding an easy way to make a profit isn’t usually the ‘right’ way, and in this case definitely is not. Stealing from people who think that their internet is secure is unfair and disrespectful.

  8. Julian Fisher

    I think there needs to be government intervention on the security of websites. If E-commerce businesses are to be held liable for any mishaps with stolen credit card and banking information. This will force these businesses to expend more resources on internet security. But the government needs be able enforce internet laws more effectively in order for this to be a success.

  9. Alisha Coate

    This technical threat is a manageable risk for the modern organization. There are programs to manage these types of risks. Companies are continuously upgrading and changing their protection software. As more enticing and hidden viruses have emerged throughout the years, spy ware and firewall systems have been developed to combat these viruses. Our technological development associates need to increase their productivity. We need to be one step ahead of the cyber criminals.
    I think governments should manage this threat. The security of our Internet can ultimately dictate our nation. If a hacker can get into our secured government data, they could potentially take over our nation. Therefore, our Internet and wireless security is in the hands of the government. The private sector is also responsible to aid in stopping these cyber criminals. It will be a joined effort in order to be effective.

  10. Leanne Dalton

    The risk of viruses and hackers is a manageable one for organizations. There are many companies that produce software in order to prevent hacking and ensure the safety of all computer knowledge of the company. If a company employed the right defense systems, they would be able to avoid many risks such as viruses or hackers. If a company wants to use computers and advanced technology, they are responsible to keep it safe and updated. Unfortunately, hackers are usually able to see which companies do not have up-to-date protection, and can prey on these organizations. This is where the government may want to step in. I do not think that the government should be regulating or managing these threats, as it is a company’s choice and responsibility to have the required software that will ward off any threats. The government should be responsible for protecting their own information. If the government was to get involved with the protection of corporations, it would create a problem for the already existing market. Would the government be responsible for providing protection for all corporations/small businesses that use information systems? Would it be mandatory to have protection from the government only? I think that government involvement in protecting from such threats is unnecessary and would only lead to more issues.

  11. Jian Li

    This technical threat is not a manageable risk for the modern organization because it is not easy to discover the potential weakness that can be used by the hackers and the bugs until the system and computers are suffered from virus. Also, it is not easy to anticipate the development of the technologies or which components of system are going to be hacked.
    To successfully manage the risks a modern organization should always keep their security and anti-virus software updated. Also, having a backup plan in case the system is hacked or is down in order to keep the normal operation.
    This threat should be managed by both governments or by the private sector. They should cooperate because it is their responsibilities to keep the society safe and secure. Also, by working on this problem together can be more effective because the government can function as supervising and punishing the illegal activities, the private sector can do the more specific job such as doing self-inspect or focus on the problem that may happen to them. Especially some organizations are holding a large amount of personal information (client data), to protect themselves are not only good for the companies themselves but also good for the whole society.

  12. edrian suarez

    Canada is just as vulnerable to a cyber attack as any other country. Hackers are getting smarter and smarter, and I am sure everyone involved in the cyber security field in this country is aware of it; therefore, there are a few things that the government could work on in order to avoid attacks and improve security.
    First off, it is really important to keep all the security measures updated and keep employees constantly trained against all the threats out there. Second I believe more laws against hackers are needed, as soon as hackers find out that there are big consequences to their actions then maybe the amount of cyber attacks to companies, countries and individuals will stop.

    That being said, I am also aware that hackers are able to accomplish a lot of things that governments and companies are not aware of. I think hackers will always be one step ahead of security workers and they will always find a way to hack into others systems to the point where they are no longer worried about hacking into computer systems to delete or steal data but they can actually manipulate hardware as well. Therefore, any country or company out there should spend enough time and money working on laws against cyber attacks and security measures to try to avoid them.

  13. Taylor Elderton

    This is definitely a manageable threat for modern organizations. Although the threat is large, the process for defending yourself is just as powerful. There is always going to be new threats for organizations to overcome, but there is also going to be new technology to defend themselves. Antivirus programs are the obvious defence. There are special programs made for businesses big or small, that will take care of the organization.

    It would be nice if the government could take care of these kinds of threats, but it is not physically possible for them to take care of each threat. The threats can get very specific, and there are millions of viruses out there. The private sector is the ideal group to take care of these threats, since anything for profit is almost always going to be more successful then a government run program.

  14. Iryna Guzhva

    Online crime is not a new issue at this time. There are ways to protect computers against technical threats. When virus attack happened for the first time, it seemed to be unmanageable. After about 25 years virus threat existed there are many antivirus programs have been developed and implemented in use. Yes, hackers become smarter and smarter. But new antivirus programs have been developed.
    Modern organizations might want to hire White Hat Hacker who would test a company system to make sure that it’s secure. It creates more jobs.
    This threat should be managed by both: by government and private organizations. Government should work on international law enforcement, find the people behind these attacks, and find the way to give them the “opportunities to use their skills for good.”

  15. Blair Watkins

    I don’t know how manageable the threat of online crime is. It is no doubt that the threat itself is currently much larger than the force trying to fight it. In the video, the speaker makes a comment that we need to find the kids with the skill but without the opportunity, and give them a different type of opportunity. That is one way to look at it. The only problem I see is that the problem has become so big that it would take more than just a few who know what they are doing to stop the problem. We almost all need to know how to stop the problem, but that’s not very realistic. I believe that the government needs to step in with the private sector and fight the problem together. It could be like a bounty hunter/ courthouse type of relationship. Aside from actually enforcing the law, they could reward vigilante cyber-police for their efforts somehow. That would help to actually create careers in order to entice people to go into this field.

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