Campus shares struggles with malware, importance of internet safety

Danger lurks behind each click, swipe and tap. Hackers prey upon consumers as they look to electronically breach and steal users’ identities. While programs feature security measures, blackhat hackers manage to attack and steal user information each year.

Cyber Security Awareness Month comes this year, and in a world where digital dangers exist everywhere online, cyber security becomes an important element of safety as society progresses.

Campus director of technology director, Robert Hyatt oversees FC’s websites and protects the school against potential electronic attacks. He shares what hackers look to learn when stealing information.

“The most valuable commodity in this world is where you shop, where you eat, where you spend your money and how much you make,” Hyatt said. “It is important to know who is tracking you, since are you being tracked, and what they’re doing with that data.”

Josiah Giles, ‘20, builds models and codes. His family recently experienced a minor cyber security breach.

“A computer that my family has had which has important tax information on it has had Malware put onto it,” Giles said. “And we do not know if it has been hacked or not. We have disconnected it from the Internet, so we really don’t know. Having cyber security is just making sure that people’s incredibly important data is not stolen. However, unfortunately, if there is some sort of security feature on pretty much anything, there’s probably a way to hack it.”

Just last month, Facebook was hacked into and over 50 million accounts were exposed and compromised. In September of 2014, payment data systems of The Home Depot were breached, affecting 56 million customers and in August of 2013, Yahoo was the victim of the biggest security breach in history, where every one of its three billion accounts were compromised.

Despite millions of dollars put into protecting both corporate and individual accounts, these are just a few of many major cyber security breaches since the turn of the 21st century. While cyber hacking breaches grow in numbers, so do cyber security systems. And along with the many workers of cyber security, students are obliged to do their part in  order to stay safe online.

Emphasizing the importance of web security, Alexis Gordon, ‘22, promotes what Robert Hyatt does at the school as the director of technology.

“I’d define cyber security as the basic protection of someone’s social media account,” Gordon said. “And the importance of cyber security is really what it was made for: to protect accounts on all platforms. In my opinion, if we didn’t have people like Mr. Robert Hyatt, then chances are outside sources could hack the schools database and just ruin everything, maybe even get ahold of everyone’s personal information.”

With a passion for exploring and learning about the interweb, Levi Sumbela, ‘19, tinkers with coding and electronic systems. He understands the importance of cyber security at the school.

“Cyber security is a way to protect our devices,” Sumbela said. “Because nowadays, a device is very important. If it’s not protected, people with bad intentions can get through and access our personal life. Without people like Robert Hyatt, people who protect you from these attacks, I don’t think we’d be able to do anything. It’s very important, if not a necessity, to have people like him.”

Founder and CEO of Breadcrumb Cybersecurity, Brian Horton, explains what he and his company do to make the Internet a safer place.

“Breadcrumb Cybersecurity is a niche firm, solely dedicated to cybersecurity consulting,” Horton said. “My vision for the company is to be a resource to both the local community and throughout California. My advice to students is this: be very mindful and cautious of what you post online about yourself. The more information you post online, the easier it will be to steal your identity. In addition, once you post something, remember that it’s permanent and you can never completely remove it.”

David Tuck can be reached via email.

For more articles on cyber security, read EDITORIAL: The importance of online safety. For more feature articles, check out AP courses challenge students, promote higher learning.