My financial information may be in the hands of hackers. I wait with bated breath as they "resolve" the issue.
I'm not frightened to the point of stashing cash under my mattress (yet), but I did just change my password. In case you're wondering, it's no longer 1234.
Statistically, it's unlikely that my information was stolen. Some 40,000 names and personal information was hacked from my bank. That's a small fraction of its two million illustrious members (if I can call those who enjoy no-fee banking illustrious).
In the late 1990s, when the Internet was but an infant, my co-worker likened Internet users to wildebeest in the African savannah; for the most part it's safe, but on any given day there's a small chance you'll be eaten alive. "I'm just one of the wildebeest," he said jovially, "trying to blend in, trying not to be eaten."
In other words, don't do anything stupid and you'll likely be okay.
The problem is, it's getting harder and harder to not do something stupid.
Ever get an e-mail that you could have sworn was legitimate? PayPay just made a payment from my account?! I don't remember making a payment... better click on this link and check it out!
An e-mail sent to my wife looked almost identical to an actual e-mail from Apple. The only suspicious item was her e-mail address; it was hers, but not the one associated with her Apple ID.
These e-mails aren't just fooling the computer illiterate. They're swindling some of the most sophisticated people in power.
John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, mistakenly gave out his password to Russian hackers in a phishing scam in 2016. He had even asked a computer technician whether it was safe, but in a sloppily worded response, his friend mistakenly said the e-mail was legitimate (he meant to type illegitimate). That typo became one of the most critical errors in Democratic Party history.
In an instant, Russian hackers had access to all Clinton-related emails for Wikileaks to randomly distribute. The day the Access Hollywood tapes on Trump were released, the dirty digital laundry from Clinton's campaign started to pile up in public view. It likely ruined her chances at the presidency.
Elections are at stake in other ways. Russia has been actively hacking state voter rolls for years and is getting closer and closer to infiltrating election machines. It makes me thankful we still use an archaic pencil and paper system in Canada.
More sophisticated hacking schemes have taken control of entire cities. In March the City of Atlanta was immobilized for nine days with hackers demanding a ransom to relent control. City employees had no access to email, residents couldn't pay electric bills and the municipal court system had no access to its electronic records. Once resolved, much of the city's records were either corrupt or gone.
Cyber security will become the issue, if it hasn't already, over the next decade. As we turn ourselves over to the wonders of an online universe where everything is interconnected, this should give us pause. (Speaking of interconnected things, do you know my sister has a stove that can be monitored through an app? From thousands of miles away, she can turn on her oven!! Even more fantastic: My brother-in-law can open his garage with his watch!!)
Technology is great, but it's putting us at risk. A major hack into an electricity grid or the financial markets would be disastrous.
It's no longer one or two wildebeest being eaten. It could be a whole herd wiped out with the push of a button.
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