1. The Risks to privacy from collecting and storing personal information
As we enter this modern age of increasing technology usage, more and more people are storing personal data online. This data gets collected by companies, corporations, and businesses on their sites. As a result of all this data collection, privacy of users is increasingly at risk as they store more information online. The fact that users can’t control what types and the amount of personal data that is collected also impacts privacy. Companies often collect data for a variety of reasons. For example, these companies track overwhelming amounts of user data to further their profits, such as collecting data on user searches to push certain products and make it more likely that users will buy said products. Sites can also track user locations and other activities, resulting in even more data being collected. The increasing number of people using the Internet also results in an increased amount of consumer data being tracked and stored by these companies. Because of all of this data being collected, there is increased risk to privacy. One of the main concerns of all of this personal data being stored is data breaches. Data breaches are the large-scale exposure of personal data, and they most commonly happen either to cyber attacks or lapses in personal security from companies storing data. The latter is a big problem, as these days, much private information is being leaked as a result of basic security failures on the part of big companies. For example, in 2017, the infamous Equifax breach, which affected 150 million people, was a result of a security failure on the side of Equifax, along with a cyberattack, allowing hackers to easily access the personal information of millions upon millions of people.
2. Misuse and Protection of Computing Resources
The misuse of computing resources can have a wide range. From gaining unauthorized access to private information, to using the Internet to spy on people, there are many ways computing resources can be misused. However, computing resources can also be protected. Types of protections for these resources can be developing strong passwords or downloading software safeguards like Firewalls. First, computing resources can be misused in a variety of ways. According to a report, some of the main ways employees can misuse computing resources are by downloading unauthorized software, copying files onto USBs, or by using unauthorized remote access to programs and services. For example, Shadow IT technology can be used to store and share private workplace information. Workers can also install messaging apps to communicate with people outside of office channels. However, computing resources can also be protected. Strategies include turning on multi-step authentication and having strong passwords, constantly updating your software, or being careful about what links you click. For example, Google will often provide users with a strong and secure password to protect accounts. Google will also give options for multi-step verification, ensuring that full security is taken.
3.Unauthorized Access to Information
Many people gain unauthorized access to private information that should be protected. For example, a study from 2007 found hackers cause cyberattacks over 2200 times a day. This poses a serious threat to computing resources, however there are methods to prevent or limit the amount of unauthorized information hackers can get. First, hackers can gain access to unauthorized information by a variety of methods. Some examples include phishing emails, using malware and viruses, and exploiting weak passwords. Phishing is when a hacker uses fake emails to trick people into providing information, such as credit card numbers or personal details. Hackers can also use fake links to trick people into clicking on them, simultaneously installing dangerous malware and viruses onto the person's device. There are techniques and safety mechanisms in place to stop these hackers from gaining this personal information. For example, the program ThreatLocker employs a range of techniques to stop hackers from gaining your personal information. This program uses allowlisting to block unauthorized software from running, storage control to prevent data from being accessed, and more. Because of these strategies, the virus couldn’t spread, and the hackers were stopped.
4. Unauthorized Access to Computing Resources
There is a large scale of different benefits and risks that can come from computing innovations. These positive and negative outcomes can be both intentional and unintentional depending on the type of innovation. For example, the advancement of AI has led to both good outcomes and bad consequences. This is just one of many ways that a computing innovation can lead to great things, but also result in bad outcomes. Starting off, the creation and development of increasingly powerful AI technologies have led to extreme positive and negative consequences. For example, a benefit of AI is the fact that it has created a very large accessibility to information. From search engines like Google, to chatbots like ChatGPT, AI has become incredibly versatile. It has many different uses too, such as use in advanced military technology, use in the medical field, or even the start of integration of AI in our everyday lives, like in home security or dynamic prices. AI has been and can be used for so much, but the fact that there is a piece of technology so easy to access that can do almost anything you want is the real biggest benefit. However, these exact benefits are why AI can be so dangerous and lead to unintentional (and some intentional) consequences. Because of how advanced AI is, many low-skill jobs, such as customer service jobs, have been replaced with AI, with many more jobs soon to be replaced. By 2030, up to 30% of jobs here in the U.S. could become automated, and by 2045, that number could jump to 50%, almost half of all jobs in the U.S. AI also costs a lot of money to maintain, as big data centers in rural areas are devastating to some communities due to increased energy prices, sound pollution, and more. The demand for data centers is expected to nearly triple by 2030, and big companies plan to invest 7 trillion dollars into AI by then. But, perhaps the biggest negative impact of AI is the very thing that makes it so coveted, the fact that it can do almost anything you want. This has led to extremely unethical scenarios, and will continue to do so as long as AI exists.