Cyber Security Explained

        While they were indeed an issue in the past, cyber attacks are starting to become a much more legitimate concern in regards to public and private safety. According to Gary C. Kessler and James Ramsay, “Cyber security threats to the nation are growing in intensity, frequency, and severity and are a very real threat to the security of the country,” (Kessler and Ramsay, 2013). Seeing as though cyber crime already costs the world $114 billion per year ("A Vote for Cyber Security Bill 2013 [editorial]," 2013), it is imperative that the problem is addressed immediately. In order to ensure both the personal and economic privacy of individuals and businesses that has been intruded upon in recent years, society must allocate more resources to network security and uncovering exploits, while simultaneously targeting underground organizations and malicious software development.
            As computers are becoming more powerful, it has become easier to break encoded and hashed passwords, meaning that conventional security measures will soon be incapable of stopping attackers. The breach in cyber security is a world wide problem, affecting everyone from citizens, to companies, and even governments. Attackers deface websites, take down servers, and steal content online, costing companies thousands of dollars in losses due to downtime and distribution of copyrighted materials. These attackers are also invading personal and governmental privacy, by breaking into networks and accessing personal or classified information.