Contextual Essay
We live in an extremely high class ‘digital age’ where technology is an extremely large part of our lives and our being. With this comes a lot of risks, surrounding cyber security and cyber surveillance. “This is due to increasing attempts from unauthorised third parties to compromise private information for their own benefit” (Kritzinger, 2010). It is extremely important for people using the internet to understand the risks of doing so and what it could potentially do if their information is not properly secure. Internet users have to not only be aware of the government eye, cyber criminals are also a huge consequence to manage for those that are uneducated on cyber surveillance and security.
This the reason for the topic of the podcast. Even after all of these cases, such as Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing incident and the formation of the Five Eyes program, people are still unaware of the positives and negatives that go into cyber surveillance and how important it can be to maintain their security. Everyone is concerned about their privacy and protection over their personal information on the internet, but it can also be beneficial in the way that it protects people from things such as cyber criminals, terrorism and viruses. After the exposure of the United States cyber surveillance scheme there was a survey conducted. “A majority, 57 percent, said that the leaks about the surveillance programs would not affect the ability of the United States to prevent future terrorist attacks, while 30 percent said the fact that the programs had been made public would weaken the government’s efforts to prevent terrorism” (Kopicki, 2013). People are always going to have their doubts about things such as this, though they feel that the American government may weaken, since the occurrence of the 2013 whistleblowing scandal, the US has been pretty fortunate in comparison to some other countries in the aspects of terrorism. People need to confide more in the government and the National Security Agency.
There are plenty of organisations put in place for people to feel safe when being active online. One of them being Palantir, an organisation that incorporates extremely intelligent cyber security practices for their clients. “Palantir Foundry represents a return to security first principles: count your doors, make sure they’re locked, and prioritize your most valuable assets. By creating a comprehensive, dynamic view of a network in Palantir Foundry, organizations can implement and strengthen basic cybersecurity hygiene practices—and from there, monitor activity for more complex attacks” (Palantir, 2018). This is just one of millions of organisations out there across the globe. This one just really stood out because they personify cyber security in an admirable way that makes it a lot easier for those that are unsure to understand.
Cyber surveillance and security is a topic we should all be educated properly about, although it has such a broad concept, it is important for people to know the outline as well as some of the incidents that have happened in the past, and then what has been done or put in place to reconcile it.
Enjoy my podcast!
Reference List
Greenwald, G., 2013. Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance
[Accessed 28 May 2018].
Kopicki, A., 2013. Poll Finds Disapproval of Record Collection, but Little Personal Concern. [Online]
Available at: https://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/poll-finds-disapproval-but-little-personal-concern-about-record-collection/
[Accessed 18 May 2018].
Kritzinger, E., 2010. Computers & Security. s.l.:Elsevier.
Palantir, 2018. Cyber. [Online]
Available at: http://www.palantir.com/solutions/cyber/
[Accessed 20 May 2018].
Tossini, J. V., 2017. The Five Eyes – The Intelligence Alliance of the Anglosphere. [Online]
Available at: https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/the-five-eyes-the-intelligence-alliance-of-the-anglosphere/
[Accessed 27 May 2018].
PODCAST MUSIC: (CREATIVE COMMONS APPROVED)
Music, R. F., 2017. Ho Hey. [Online]
Available at: https://soundcloud.com/royalty-free-music-soundotcom/ho-hey-100-free-download-royalty-free-music-dance-pop-upbeat-fashion
[Accessed 27 May 2018].
Music, R. F., 2017. Inspriational Life. [Online]
Available at: https://soundcloud.com/royalty-free-music-soundotcom/inspirational-life-100-free-download-royalty-free-music-inspiring-upbeat-corporate
[Accessed 27 May 2018].
Side note: THIS IS MY VERY FIRST PODCAST EVER!!! I have also been extremely sick for the last 3 weeks of the semester and have been really short on breath and croaky. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done and I hope you can excuse that in my recording!
Thanks for tuning in!
-Cassie
Life of Cassie 