Journal 7: Media and how it influences cybersecurity

Technology touches everything we do and use. In the early days, the media and Hollywood portrayed a technological world as a very futuristic, endless ability. It has influenced how we see the cyber world.

The media influences how we see and understand cybersecurity through its depictions of cybercrime and hacking. Hacking or cyber attacks shown in movies is more dramatized. They will include real aspects of hacking or fighting back against hacking but real world hacking is not as fast or as easy as shown. Older films showed more in your face graphics or data scrolling by very fast, which is not real world. It made it seem like there was nothing you could do to be safe from attacks. As technology has grown, some of these ideas shown in movies seem more and more possible. A lot of newer shows show the action of hacking or blocking hacking with a better real world depiction, but a lot still add in actions to dramatize the action. Even with the dramatized actions in movies it does show there is a big need for cybersecurity. The more everything is connected and the more we rely on these tools, the more we open up to attacks like someone gaining access to your home cameras or using tools like flippers to copy your RFID badges. Older movies about the future cyber world was more of far off possibility. Newer movies seem to hit little closer to our time where hacker taking down a power plant in a movie is not out of the possibilities in the real world.

I think the media has influenced how we look at cybersecurity by showing scenarios that hit closer to home.  They do not always show the look or actions of true hacking or cybercrimes but more of the idea what someone might be able to do. The actions might be dramatized but the need for cybersecurity and a understanding of it is more relevant in todays cyber world.