21st Century and Hacking

In the past 100 years, the world has witnessed major technological advancements. Smartphones,

laptops, smart TVs, wearables, air conditioners, machines, automobiles, airplanes, and especially

the internet have changed the lives of people in a way that nobody has imagined before. Today,

technology has become an integral part of our lives: Emails have replaced traditional letters, web

representation is more frequently used in businesses and education rather than printed materials,

Internet-based communication is more adopted by consumers than phone services, and instead of

traditional shopping and banking, people are more inclined towards online shopping and

transactions. In other words, we are living in a world of cyberspace: a virtual world that is

connected by several links between computers, internet-enabled appliances, and servers,

resulting in an electronic medium that enables online communication. At the same time, the

world of cyberspace is filled with devices of The Internet of Things or the IoT. Kennerly (2018)

described the IoT as follows: “Internet of Things connects things such as refrigerators and toys to

the internet and sometimes enables them to communicate with each other” (p. 125). Although

IoT devices and technology were supposed to make people's lives better, in reality, they made

them worse. Advancements in science and technology have opened up a dark world of

cybercrime where criminals perform illegal activities online and then disappear into thin air.

Today, the number of cybercrimes has grown so much that they have become a threat to public

safety, national security, governments, institutions, societies and computer security. Monteith et

al. (2021) reported, “The FBI stated that the number of cybercrime complaints in between

January through end of May 2020 were nearly the same as for the entire year of 2019” (p. 18). In

addition, cybercrime costs people and governments millions of dollars. Monteith et al. (2021)

further reported, “In 2018, it was estimated in that cybercrime cost the world $600 billion, and
that two billion people have had personal data stolen or compromised” (p. 18). Hence, it is

essential to acknowledge the importance of cybersecurity, learn which online practices are

insecure, realize how to perform cybersecurity measures, and how to report a cybercrime

(Monteith et al., 2021, p. 18). According to Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

(CISA) (2019), cybersecurity or computer security is the skill of safeguarding systems,

equipment, and data from unauthorized access and the habit of guaranteeing secrecy, honesty,

and availability of data (para. 1).

To sum up, innovations in the field of technology are making our personal information

vulnerable and exposed to cybersecurity threats. To remove vulnerabilities and potential risks, a

considerable amount of research needs to be done to devise methods for safe browsing and

secure systems. Based on my research and experiences, I argue the following: People need to be

educated about the world of cybersecurity so that they can formulate the skills to stay safe,

improve their network security, and protect their data from harmful attacks. Most importantly,

there is a special need for cybersecurity experts and data scientists who can find vulnerabilities in

the systems and explore possible solutions to prevent the risks of harmful attacks.

Cybercrime

Since advancements in technology is resulting in an increased number of cybercrimes, I argue

that there is a dire need to protect people's systems from the harmful activities of hackers through

advanced protection systems. Hackers commit illegal acts called cybercrimes through computer

systems and internet. Cybercrime can be defined as a modern form of physical crime due to its

unique tools and weapons. It is a broad term, comes in various shapes, and has a number of

disadvantages. Cybercrime is also called virtual crime, net crime, computer crime, and e-crime

or electronic crime. Alansari et al. (2019) described cybercrime as:

 Offenses that are committed against individuals or groups with a criminal motive of

intentionally harming the reputation of the victim, causing physical or mental harm, and

cause loss of money or information directly or indirectly by using the Internet and

electronic devices. (p. 4)

In fact, CISA (2019) pointed out various risks of cybercrime: malware wiping out a whole

network, an intruder making changes to files, an attacker using an individual's computer to attack

others, and a hacker stealing an individual's credit card data to make unofficial purchases (para.

2). According to Monteith et al. (2021), “Cybercrime has evolved from a nefarious hobby of

individual hackers to a highly organized, international business network covering every aspect of

cyberattack activities, including black markets for stolen data” (p. 18). It is important to note that

cybercrime can be better understood if we know about its types. Monteith et al. (2021) identified

various types of cybercrimes like phishing (messages designed to deceive users to disclose

sensitive personal information), malware (concealed malicious apps/viruses developed to obtain

personal information or harm computer systems), fraudulent e-commerce (websites that sell fake

products, ship no products, or illegally sell products), romance scams (using fake identity to gain

trust and use the victim for personal gains), tech-support scams (emails or pop-up messages that

pretend to be from authentic company and warn the user about their computer problem to sell

useless tech-support services and installs malware to collect sensitive information), blackmailing

(victims are accused of improper behavior and are threatened that family, employers, and social

network contacts will be told without immediate ransom payment), work-from-home scams

(work-from-home environments are to obtain personal information), and denial of service (large

scale attacks that make the websites of an organization or government service unavailable) (p.

18). Similarly, Alansari et al. (2019) observed other types of cybercrimes, like hacking (illegal
access of computer system) and cyber-terrorism (terrorist activities are performed through the

medium of internet) (p. 11). There are few other types of cybercrimes: identity-theft (criminals

perform unauthorized transactions from the account of consumer) and child pornography

(children are victimized to market child pornography). According to Alansari et al. (2019),

various effects of cybercrimes include: loss of business and confidence, loss of infrastructure,

loss of financial resources and emotional damage, loss of assets, costs to respective companies

and people to re-establish credit histories, accounts, and identities, as well as the risk of further

criminal activity (p. 4). Indeed, a person who performs cybercrime is called a hacker,

cybercriminal, cracker, or intruder. Hackers use malicious softwares like viruses, worms,

spywares, and adwares to execute illegal activities. Above all, cybercrime is different from

physical crime. Monteith et al. (2021) distinguished between physical crime and cybercrime as

follows:

Traditional physical crime to steal money like breaking into a house or business leaves

considerable evidence including DNA, fingerprints, shoeprints, and security camera

recordings. In contrast, a cybercriminal obscures their identity and has a very low risk of

getting arrested or going to jail. (p. 18)

Similarly, cyberspace provides a number of advantages to cybercriminals. Monteith et al. (2021)

claimed that

A broad range of attack ‘services’ can be purchased through cybercrime markets on the

dark web or hacker forums, with little technical expertise needed…Today’s organized

cybercriminals take advantage of the latest software and hardware developments just like

legitimate developers. For example, cybercriminals may use machine learning to generate
 disinformation including text, fake image, video and voice, or to break CAPTCHA. (p.

18)

Further, cyberspace provides criminals anonymity, software tools to defeat password protection,

and automation. Thus through different types of cybercrimes, malicious softwares, and

advantages that cyberspace provides, cybercriminals become difficult to track and identify.

Therefore, it is essential to find an ultimate solution for cybercrimes.

An Insight on a Few Data Breaches from All Over the World

The world is full of examples about data breaches and major digital attacks. Since the creation of

the World Wide Web, data breaches have not stopped for even a second. And that is why I argue

that the field of cybersecurity needs to be considered as the big area to work on, in order to keep

away from future challenges caused by cybercrimes. In 2020, Russian intelligence attempted to

steal information from the U.S. about the advancement of the COVID-19 vaccine. In 2019, the

FBI revealed that several individuals were working inside Twitter and providing the Saudi

government information that they were interested in (PBS Newshour, 2020, 00:20-04:55).

Waldron (2017) reported that

An alarming number of people with debit and credit cards have had the unpleasant

experience of checking their accounts, only to find charges for purchases that they never

made. Criminals stole the identities of about 17.6 million people in the U.S. in 2014—

about seven percent of the population. Financial websites have tried to protect against

identity theft by using increasingly complex security questions to verify identity, but

experienced hackers have ways to bypass these protections. (para. 1)

Most consumers do not understand that their internet-connected devices can be hacked for a big

digital attack, like the 2016 event that blew Twitter, Reddit, Netflix, and many other websites off

the internet (Kennerly, 2018, p. 133). Alansari et al. (2019) claimed that

The important historical event of e-crimes was exposed by associated press in 2013 about

theft on Twitter account. The criminal wrote tweets about attacks in the White House that

left President Obama injured. This tweet had led to a drop in Dow Jones by 130 points

and withdrawal of 136 billion dollars from stock markets in the United States of America.

(p. 7)

Similarly, in the Equifax breach, the hackers stole the names, Social Security Numbers (SSN),

dates of birth, and home addresses of nearly half of the population of the U.S. (Kennerly, 2018,

p.123). Since then, the number of data breaches is increasing with the passage of time.

Carelessness Leads to Danger and Risk

Generally, people freely give up their personal data to enjoy the benefits of using the internet

without realizing that they are putting themselves in danger, and that is why I argue that people

need to be educated about the harms of cybersecurity, so that they can better protect themselves

in an increasingly advanced world. According to Monteith et al. (2021)

With cybercrime, individuals often actively participate in the fraudulent process to which

they become the victim, such as by responding to a phishing email and providing private

information. Individuals may not be sufficiently suspicious, may not be able to detect

fraudulent messages, or may not pay sufficient attention to stop a fraudulent process.

Falling for a scam involves errors in decision-making, and the spammers’ goal is to

create situations that increase the likelihood of errors in judgment. (p. 18)
Kennerly (2018) acknowledged an argument of Priscilla Regan, a professor in the Department of

Public and International Affairs at George Mason University who argued that she had never met

anyone who had ever read the terms of service. When people use the internet, they do not bother

to safeguard their privacy, they just concentrate on the transaction. People assume that they get

everything on the internet for free. In reality, it is not free. People have become the product and

the property. People's behavior is of particular concern for the enterprises so that they can target

them better (p. 126). Gellman and Dixon (2022) observed that people get exposed to criminal

activities like phishing, pharming, hacking, data breaches, and other intrusions due to online

security flaws, carelessness, and ignorance (para. 1). Hitchings (2020) commented:

We answer a call from an unfamiliar number only to hear a recorded warning about our

car's warranty, our student loans, or our social security payments. At this point, anyone

who doesn't smell a scam can quickly find themselves victims of identity theft. But even

if we do hang up and block the number, there's nothing to stop similar robocalls from

coming in from different lines. Some unlucky people can find themselves spammed with

dozens of calls a day (para. 1).

Kimpe et al. (2022) believed that internet users have the propensity to be unjustifiably optimistic

regarding their own online safety, which results in people executing fewer security measures (p.

1796). Such carelessness of people makes them fall into the trap of cybercriminals and as a

result, they suffer major damages. In 2015, the identities of almost 13.1 million Americans were

stolen, which cost them up to 15.3 billion dollars. In 2017, the number of victims rose to 16.7

million Americans, which cost 16.8 billion dollars (Marchini & Miller, 2017, as cited in

Kennerly, 2018, p. 134). These figures show the ignorance of people about the concept of

hacking and cybersecurity measures.

 Two Opposing Views

Even though I argue that there is a special need to take cybersecurity measures, there are many

who believe that all of these efforts are useless. Such people are of the view that no matter how

much we take effective measures, cybercriminals still will be able to hack people’s devices due

to technological advancements. For example, cybercriminals can gain advantage of anonymity-

enabling tools to remain anonymous and hide their identity. Online anonymity tools like the

VPN, Incognito tab on Google Chrome, and the Tor Network hide the identity of the hacker, and

hence the hacker can perform illegal activities. Alvaro Bedoya, a professor of law at Georgetown

University, raised serious concern about authentication systems and argued:

I do know what your ear looks like if I meet you, and I can take a high-resolution photo

of it from afar,” said Alvaro Bedoya, a professor of law at Georgetown University in

Washington, D.C. “I know what your fingerprint looks like if we have a drink and you

leave your fingerprints on the . . . glass. That makes biometrics easily hackable and

trackable” (as cited in Kennerly, 2018, p. 128)

Since authentication methods like biometrics and fingerprints are stored and collected in

biometric authentication devices through the use of technology, they can be hacked easily.

Similarly, Sviatun et al. (2021) questioned the measures of cybersecurity and commented:

The complex nature of cybercrime is its involvement in organized crime groups. Along

with this, criminals and victims are located in different regions, and their effects can

spread to societies around the world, necessitating an urgent, dynamic and integrated

response. There is no crime scene in cyberspace in its traditional sense, where one can

find physical evidence, fingerprints, and witnesses. (p. 751-752)

The common argument fallacy that is on display in these counter arguments is the either-or

argument fallacy. Although I agree that in this world of modern technology, it is difficult to

protect ourselves from cybersecurity threats, I cannot accept the idea that cybersecurity is no

longer a major force today. Larson (2020) offered suggestions and asserted:

Encryption systems need to evolve and improve constantly since they are under relentless

attack—from criminals, certainly, but also from government agencies around the world,

not to mention academics, tech experts employed by businesses, and hobbyists who see it

as their mission to "stress-test" whatever is out there. (para. 2)

When cybersecurity experts, data scientists, and security analysts pay close attention to the

problems pertaining to cybercrime and formulate solutions for it, only then will people be able to

protect themselves from the threats of intruders and hostile nations. At the same time, training

should be given to people that show they can protect themselves in a better way. Kimpe et al.

(2021) observed that “increasing people’s awareness and (perceived) knowledge about online

risks and measures might be beneficial to a certain extent, as it will increase perceptions of

severity and self-efficacy" (p. 1804-1805). Hence, large spaces need to be filled that prevail in

the area of cybersecurity like skills, research, methods, tools, encryption systems, detection

mechanisms, cyber-laws, worldwide alliance, and technological interpretation.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a field that is the need of the hour, although it has not yet become successful in

protecting user’s data from hackers completely. Still, by doing more in-depth research and

finding vulnerabilities in the systems, we can formulate methods that can prevent cybercriminals

from performing malicious activities. Seemma et al. (2018) described cybersecurity as “Being
protected by internet-connected systems, including hardware, software and data, from cyber-

attacks…The security, which is designed to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and

availability of data, is a subset of cyber security” (p. 125). Sviatun et al. (2021) further defined

cybersecurity as “the organization and collection of resources, processes and structures used to

protect cyberspace and cyberspace-supported systems from events that are de jure incorrectly

equated with actual property rights” (p. 753). Cybersecurity is essential because it can protect

data and systems from major cyber-attacks, data breaches, and identity theft (Seemma et al.,

2018, p. 125-126). Cybersecurity not only involves taking measures to protect personal data but

also finding loop holes or vulnerabilities that facilitate cybercriminals to perform cybercrimes.

CISA (2019) in this regard provided various guidelines to protect personal data: keep software

up to date, run up-to-date antivirus software, use strong passwords, change default usernames

and passwords, implement multi-factor authentication (MFA), install a firewall, and be

suspicious of unexpected emails (para. 6). At the same time, cybersecurity experts as well as

security analysts need to find new cybersecurity strategies to cope with cybercrime and carry out

measures of security (Seemma et al., 2018, p. 127). Unfortunately, we are living in a world

where “cybercrime is growing faster than cybersecurity combating measures. Consequently,

businesses and government agencies are more prone to cyberattacks than ever before” (Sviatun

et al., 2021, p. 753). Therefore, it is compulsory to protect our data and devices from hackers and

create a secure environment for everyone around us. A secure environment can only be created if

we adopt a habit of taking cybersecurity measures in our daily activities like not disclosing our

personal information, credit/debit card numbers, ATM pins, OTPs, security card numbers, date

of birth, login credentials, and names of family members. Even social media sharing should be

restricted to avoid major data losses and blackmailing. If we suspect any suspicious activity, then
we should report it to the concerned department. Although these steps seem small, they can have

a great impact on our future and our dear ones.

Conclusion

The developments in technology have both positive and negative effects. The positive effect is

that technology has made people's lives easier and better. But the negative effect is that

technology has given rise to a number of cybercrimes that are a threat to public safety and

national security. With the increase in use of technology, internet, and IoT devices, the number

of data breaches and cybercrimes has increased. As a result, it is necessary to educate the new

generation about the concepts of cybersecurity. People will be able to protect themselves from

cybercrimes when they are familiar with the concepts of cybersecurity and have the knowledge

of basic terms like “hacker”, “intruder”, “attacker”, “malicious code”, and “vulnerabilities”

(CISA, 2019, para. 3). At the same time, new developments need to be done in cybersecurity

with the help of new algorithms, frameworks, and procedures. Kennerly (2018) argued:

The growing threat will make digital security even more important in the years ahead.

There will be a horrific shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals in the coming

years. The nation needs a cybersecurity [agency] equivalent to the Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau. (p. 139)

Kennerly (2018) further stated that we need to be five steps ahead of cybercriminals, otherwise

we will be eight steps behind (p. 135). Therefore, more in-depth research needs to be done to

find out what methods hackers use to steal information and how to stop them. Moreover, there is

a terrible need for cyber security experts and security analysts who can take up this task and
track the vulnerabilities. The question is, in this age of technology, will we be able to finally

secure our information or not? In the end, all we can do is think before we click!

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