Easy Cyber Knowledge: Ch.1 Internet History

 

 

This change is happening far faster than previous industrial revolutions. It began as a form of Information Technology but it is now developing and employing a range of emerging electronic technologies.  From 2000 to 2019, the number of global Internet users rose from 394 million to 4.2 billion, so over half the world’s population of 7.6B use the Internet. 

 

This new electronic revolution is developing and employing emerging computing technologies such as cognitive electronics, advanced analysis, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and quantum computing and has already developed such things as new methods of commercial production, specific facial recognition to new bio-technology. 

 

These technologies include 3D commercial production, data driven vehicles, robotic, bio-technology, AI and there is a blurring of physical, digital and biological elements to create a new techno-reality. And of course this is also changing and bringing new types of criminal activity. 

 

You share in this new revolution as you are part of over half of the world’s population that now browses the Web, be it for work, shopping, social media, news, entertainment or as part of the cyber-criminal Dark Web. 

 

 

This process will alter everything from enhance human brain thinking to automated avionics and robotics and gradually this process will globally connect and change all types of jobs within everything from education, business, transport, policing, the military to government.

 

By connecting even more billions of people using mobile devices, electronic connections, storage capability, information accessibility and processing power this revolution will substantially increase the size of the interconnected the world and will alter the way we see and understand the globe and our place in it. 

 

For instance, if you were born and living in Nigeria and you review and discuss options, the mobile you use suggests you could come to Europe and be socially and economically better off and your access to social media may well give you the connections and encouragement to make the trip.   

 

This interconnected world of cyber offers enormous opportunities to gain understanding, insightful data, commercial expansion and government interconnection. All of which can seriously improve an individual’s knowledge, jobs and potential.  

 

Perhaps more importantly this revolution is already positively and negatively altering our geo-politics and macro-economic development. 

 

The benefits that arise from these relatively recent electronic developments, such as cloud and cognitive computing, are beginning to become enormously influential. However, cyberspace also includes hacker criminal threats, and the growing arena of cyber-warfare.

 

The potential for engaging with and countering cyber-crime comes in many new unique ways, one of which is Automated Content Recognition technologies. These can extract visual data from thousands of information streams. 

 

It can do this simultaneously and use new algorithms that can search these cloud-based indexes in seconds. This produces a specific relevant answer within seconds something that would have taken hours and probably days using a human analyst production process. 

 

Some of the latest AI techniques allow users to identify specific moments or in-video elements with extreme accuracy. Whether it is facial recognition for national security purposes or tracking products to monitor ad spends, this technology has for instance the power to revolutionise how a range of industries use video to effect business and sometimes to monitor potential cyber-crime.

 

Everyone from governments, commercial organisations and you as individuals all need new understanding, strategies and specific tactics using Cyber’s outlook and potential. This requires a change in perspective, continued research and changes to working methods employing the relevant technology that projects into the new interconnected global future.

 

It is very important that individuals, all areas of business and commerce, police forces, the military and all other aspects of government create and continually review an electronic cyber strategy ensuring that this is used in their tactics on the ground. The results will be far more effective, precise and relevant than can be achieved using traditional methodologies.

 

Each strategy should incorporate the different areas of electronic relevance to government, commerce and individuals that offer real opportunities for globally connected future progress, while ensuring that capable security is implemented and continually up-dated.

 

When used well these processes ensure our security, as well as significantly improving the broader issues of global and national macro-economics, intelligence, law enforcement and geo-politics. 

 

When misused by criminals and cyber warfare activists this transformation has the potential for catastrophic outcomes.

 

1st Industrial Revolution came around the same time as the UK’s 1st Agricultural Revolution in 1700s, with steam power the mechanisation of the textile industry. 

Tasks previously done by hand in hundreds of weavers' cottages were brought together in a single cotton mill, and the factory was born. 

The 2nd Industrial Revolution began in the 1870s and into the early 20th century and was complete by 1914 just before the 1st World War, when Henry Ford mastered electric power and the moving assembly line ushering in the age of mass production. Other significant changes at this time included the light bulb, internal combustion engines, phonograph and the telephone.

The 3rd Industrial Revolution or the Digital Revolution came in the 1980s with the rise of electronics, personal tele-communications, the Internet and personal computers. 

Now, the 4th Industrial Revolution builds on the Digital Revolution and is embedding technology within social life. It has been marked by a number of technology breakthroughs like robotics, 3D printing which can produce client specific products, nanotechnology, the Internet of Things and self-drive vehicles. 

 

This digitalisation enables us to build a new virtual world from which we can steer the physical world.

The industry of today and tomorrow aim to connect all production means to enable their interaction in real time thanks to technology such as Cloud, Big Data Analytics, 3 D printing and the Internet of Things.

 

A number of remarkable technologies are converging: clever software, novel materials, more dexterous robots, new processes and a whole range of web-based services. The factory of the past was based on cranking out millions of identical products: 

 

The factory of the future will focus on mass customisation—and may look more like those weavers' cottages than Ford's assembly line.

 

The old way of making things involved taking lots of parts and screwing or welding them together. Now a product can be designed on a computer and “printed” on a 3D printer, which creates a solid object by building up successive layers of material. 

 

Today the concept of cyber is used to describe the systems and services directly or indirectly connected to the Internet, telecommunications, electronic, and computer networks. Cyberspace can be visualised as an electronic nervous system running through many national and international sectors and systems. 

 

Digital technology has already significantly rocked some industries like the publishing industry. Publishing has been completely changed by digital technology and has allowed readers a far faster electronic engagement with issues, news and analysis. It has threatened the commerciality of newspapers, books and magazines and considerably reduced the amount of overall print. The new process has given far more individuals a growing blogging space in which to add real and false news, comment and views globally. 

 

For television broadcasters the time-shifting function of watching a recorded programme means it is easy to skip advertisements. Advertisers are trying to develop alternative methods of delivering their message, some overt and some covert, using product placement and ambush advertising. However, as in all revolutions Cyber has a criminal down side and this also needs all of our engaging attention.

 

Currently Londoners are losing an average of £26 million a month in cyber-attacks on businesses and individuals, Scotland Yard has warned. Thousands of cyber fraud are recorded in the capital each month, with phishing emails, ransomware and malware the most common scams. Senior Met officers warned fraudsters often target individual employees to bypass company security systems.

 

 

Information is Power, is certainly true when it comes to cybercrime. Access to your personal information is what gives hackers the power to tap into your accounts and steal your money or your identity. But the right information can also empower you to protect yourself from being caught up in the thriving industry that is cybercrime and we will be adding specific security protection information in this book. 

 

 

This book’s aim is to provide a clear strategic perspective and actionable methodologies that will help individuals and organisations in this changing and often confusing CyberScape. It will help them make positive changes to their current perspectives and practical actions. 

 

Currently Londoners are losing an average of £26 million a month in cyber-attacks on businesses and individuals, Scotland Yard has warned.Thousands of cyber fraud are recorded in the capital each month, with phishing emails, ransomware and malware the most common scams. Senior Met officers warned fraudsters often target individual employees to bypass company security systems.

 

To say that Information is Power, is certainly true when it comes to cybercrime. Access to your personal information is what gives hackers the power to tap into your accounts and steal your money or your identity. But the right information can also empower you to protect yourself from being caught up in the thriving industry that is cybercrime. 

 

 

1 Use Common Sense and get some Cyber Education - Hackers aren’t the only ones who can gain power from information. By Cyber educating yourself you will understand the changes and you will improve your job prospects and also understand the types of crime that exist on the Internet and how to avert them, you are putting yourself one step ahead of the jobs and skills market and the next step ahead of cyber-criminals. 

 

 

Click Emails with caution - When you’re checking your email or chatting over instant messenger (IM), be careful not to click on any links in messages from people you don’t know. The link could take you to a fake website that asks for your private information, such as user names and passwords, or it could download malware onto your computer. Even if the message is from someone you know if the email is asking you to do something slightly unusual, be cautious. Some viruses replicate and spread through email, so look for information that indicates that the message is legitimate. If you aren’t sure separately phone or text them from another device. 

 

Despite the warnings, cybercrime is increasing, fuelled by common mistakes people make such as responding to spam and downloading attachments from people they don’t know. So, use common sense whenever you’re on the Internet. Never post personal information online or share sensitive information such as your social security number and credit card number. Exercise caution when clicking on any links or downloading any programs. 

 

2   Practice safe shopping - In addition to practicing safe surfing, you also need to be careful where you shop online. Be cautious when shopping at a site that you’ve never visited before and do a little investigation before you enter your payment information. because this is another way to see if the site uses encryption. 

When it comes time to pay, use a credit card instead of a debit card. If the site turns out to be fraudulent your credit card issuer may reimburse you for the charges, but with a debit card your money is gone. 

 

3  Use strong passwords - Although it may be easier for you to remember short passwords that reference your birthday, middle name, or pet’s name, these kinds of passwords also make it easy for hackers. Strong passwords can go a long way in helping secure your information, so choose a password that is at least 10 characters long and consists of a combination of letters, numbers and special characters. Also consider changing your password periodically to reduce the likelihood of it being compromised. 

 

We all need to be trained and helped to make better new age decisions, and this training can also provide useful advice before and even after becoming a Cyber victim. By reading this you have already begun the process 

 

The book will review Cyber’s past, current and potential future issues that require new types of strategic analysis and planning for Individuals, Governments, Intelligence operations, Business and Policing organisations in this expanding electronic infrastructure. 

 

It will consider the effects and changes that will affect operations and opportunities for analysis of an individual’s current and future data comprehension, commercial client and customer trends and beliefs, market and competitive information. Lack of engagement with this data and analysis will have very negative impacts on any operations stability and growth. 

 

The purpose is to position the changes currently taking place on a global level within a historic perspective that gives the reader a clear understanding of the alterations taking place and the way in which similar earlier transformations have altered the way in which individuals, society, government, policing and commercial operations have to radically alter their understanding and the ways in which they respond.

 

The book also suggests that CyberSecurity teams are created that includes the CIO/IT Director and that these must regularly report about Cyber directly to the main board of organisations, for them to fully understand and engage with the expanding Cyber security implications, threats and opportunities. 

 

From an operations perspective the book proposes that independent teams should be used to review and randomly check security processes, procedures and data and market opportunities on an irregular and regular basis. The security teams would be similar in concept to the Annual Financial Audits that are now legally required by most organisations. The Cyber Security Audits team would be independent of the IT department and its day-to-day operations. It should act as an independent Audit Team on an irregular basis throughout the year and frequently report back to senior management on changes to security and current and future Cyber plans and the team should produce current Cyber Security Audit Reports. 

Importantly the book will look in depth at the Cyber Security issues that now confront all areas of individual life, government, business and law enforcement across the globe. 

 

These issues range from local Cyber Crime to the cross border to the data analysis issues that Cyber offers as methods for targeting and reducing crime and improving police effectiveness.  

 

Overall the book discusses the best strategies and tactics to engage with the security and importantly opportunity areas of Cyber. These include areas from the Internet of Things to Web Marketing and the many other security aspects including client creation, marketing, analysis of markets, propaganda, spying, hacking, crime and CyberWarfare.

 

Finally, in the book’s Concluding section there would be a review of the possible futures and the effects of Cyber on the next generations. 

 

These are the chapters that will individually come to you over the next few months…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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