If you have internet access, then endless knowledge is available at your fingertips. If you need to know the capital of a remote country, you can find out what it is in five seconds. If you want to learn more about the history of that remote country, you can do so without ever leaving your seat. This convenient access to information has changed the world. In many ways, the change has been for the better, but there are significant downsides as well.
Sharing and consuming digital information is easy, but keeping it private is not always so simple. Hackers in every corner of the world are constantly working to gain access to information that they have no right to view. Sometimes these security breaches are trivial, but other times they place people’s livelihoods in jeopardy. As society continues to collectively move its most precious information online, it is becoming increasingly necessary to bolster the ways this information is protected
Improving Cyber Security
In 2015, the United States public sector reported 781 data breaches. While the majority of the stolen information was financial in nature, a higher proportion of personal information was stolen than ever before. Scammers can use personal information to carry out more sophisticated manipulations, which have the potential to cause greater psychological harm to their victims. Clearly, the cyber security field must develop more quickly in order to outpace the activities of cyber criminals.
Fortunately, numerous training programs have arisen to meet this need. Cyber security techniques are constantly evolving, so students should look for programs that not only impart the core principles and methods of the field, but also teach them how to think innovatively as new problems arise. For example, Maryville’s bachelor’s in cyber security offers diverse course options, and the department provides frequent updates on developments in the cyber security field.
Updating Existing Disciplines
Cyber security is an emerging profession, but most occupations existed before the digital age. Each of these occupations has been forced to respond to the rise of technology in its own way. For disciplines that are particularly concerned with cultivating, sharing, and safeguarding information, it has been particularly important to adapt to the changing needs of the public.
For example, the library sciences field was once concerned only with the keeping of physical books. However, today’s libraries are also responsible for protecting digital information. Seasoned librarians are now responsible for job duties they could not have dreamed of thirty years ago. To address these changes, many educational programs for aspiring librarians have been completely redesigned. Click here to learn more about how the overlap between library science and information technology continues to grow.
Keeping Information Safe
Cyber crime and cyber security are some of the youngest players in the game of criminal justice, but they are here to stay. All of the convenience of the digital age is worthless if it comes at the cost of personal safety and security. Fortunately, improved educational programs and occupational overhauls are contributing to the establishment of a more secure virtual infrastructure. Cyber security may be digital, but it can still be rock-solid.
