I signed out of Facebook yesterday, and it's amusing that some people would ask why. Well, the internet has lots of security flaws--not much of a newsflash--and I want to keep my data safe from hackers! The original internet architects never worried about security, and we're still trying to work around that. Before my internet programming class, I blindly believed that most websites were secure. Not so. Dr. Daniel Zappala, both my professor and the head of BYU's Internet Research Lab, indicated that some 64% of websites are vulnerable to cross-scripting attacks. While such attacks don't represent all internet security issues, it makes me wonder how secure any website really is. By the way, this includes websites with "secure" servers and certified HTTPS protocols. In any event, it's relatively easy to manipulate a user's account simply by crafting URL's when they are logged in. What other ways have hackers found to take control of "secure" data or accounts? Logging out of web applications, along with other basic internet safety practices, may not significantly reduce the potential for such threats. However, despite the annoyances of such practices, isn't the "better safe than sorry" approach worth the effort when dealing with your sensitive data?
http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/18/technology/burger-king-twitter-hacked/index.html
Online security really can never be guaranteed. It's nice to have the conveniences of social networking and online banking, but is it worth the risk?
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is scary how vulnerable our online information can be. The Twitter hackers supposedly got info on 250,000 accounts. And if I can't trust Burger King's twitter, who can I?
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely true. Internet security is important but no matter how "secure" something is, it really is a risk every time sensitive information is input on any site.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Todd and Nathan. This isn't the only avenue to get access to "secure" data. There are plenty of other ways through keyloggers, phishing, security question weaknesses, etc. This serves as a good reminder to ask ourselves, "Is this really secure?" when we start handing over our private information.
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