From reading "The Cuckoo's Egg" I have learned how vulnerable computer systems around the world really are. It is scary to think
that there are so many holes in our computer programs through which hackers can
sneak in to get our private information. We are putting our society in
danger by being so unaware of the damage that could be done if our computers are
unprotected. We are vulnerable to
computer hackers out there that have discovered the flaws of various computer
systems that we have yet to learn about. They are ruining the trust that computer users need to have in
order to be able to collaborate to benefit from the profitable resources that
computers can be. Those we call hackers need to stop playing games and pulling pranks,
and realize how destructive they are being. They are creating more work
for innocent people. Their pranks put people behind schedule in projects,
in development plans, in schoolwork, and in jobs. I have had many friends
at school whose computers have crashed causing them to lose everything,
including important papers or projects they had been working on. When
this happens, it is not just inconvenient, but it is completely vexing to have to
either restore the information they had, or redo all the work they had lost. Think of all the pictures, programs, and information that can be stored on one computer. If all that is lost, it is like a chunk of data that has been documenting your life just disappears.
Flaws in computer programs need to be made known to the users and fixed.
There should be better ways of informing computer users of
how to protect their private personal information. We
should be able to trust the creators when we buy their products, but we can't
if they are holding back information regarding defects that could potential
harm us. Once users are made aware of weaknesses in their computers and of ways to repair them,
they are responsible if problems that they could have prevented arise. However, we cannot be expected to prevent problems if we do not know that they exist.
While your points are, on the whole, sound, it is important to also realize that computer security has improved significantly since 1987, largely as a result of the efforts of people like Cliff Stoll. _The Cuckoo's Egg_ is not so much a description of how bad our security is, but a description of how bad it was, and the reasons for why it was that way. Our security is still not perfect, but it is better, and it will continue to get better as long as people remain aware of the reasons for its failures.
ReplyDeleteOur systems are still very vulnerable today, and mainly in the same way as the book pointed out. People choose stupid passwords and do not protect them. How many people use the same password for several different accounts? I am guilty myself. If someone creates a password for an account on an untrusted site, that site could try to use their user name and password to get into their other accounts.
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