Not only here in the United States, but in many countries around the world, the digital economy is something that is a huge focus for the future. Many of those countries lack the resources that we have here at home and so working online in a digital arena is the only hope they have for providing an income for a large portion of the population. Here in the USA, many workers lost their jobs as a result of the crash in 2008, and the ensuing Great Recession. Some of them turned to freelancing online and have become a major portion of the digital economy. Unfortunately, that begs the question: how will inadequate cyber security impact this sector? It’s still too early to tell, but one marketing agency, Sinle Grain, has some thoughts on the matter.
Computers Are at the Heart of Digital Technology
With computers being the very foundation of most advances in technology today, it would almost be unthinkable to go forward into the future without the benefits they provide. However, for every benefit, there always seems to be a disadvantage, and so it goes with the digital economy. That would be cyber security. Americans are asked to rely increasingly on the safety and security computers are supposed to provide, but with all the recent hacks, and major ones at that, it’s obvious that even the very technology we trust with our well-being are prone to attacks we can’t see coming.
Why Weren’t More People Vocal about These Concerns?
In a recent article in welivesecurity.com, author Stephen Cobb asked this very same question. He noted that even at the dawning of this massive surge in Internet usage in the early days – the late 90s – people were already in tune with the potential security risks. He, like so many others, wonder why those concerned Internet users weren’t more vocal, forcing security to be a major issue with IT professionals. Perhaps if more people had spent more time keeping those worm holes closed in the very beginning, cyber security professionals wouldn’t have such a hard road ahead of them.
Google Again at the Head of the Class – March 2017 Survey Says…
Once again, search giant Google is the forerunner in statistics. Here they sought to see just what people thought of cyber security and how great a risk they thought it would be. Here is what they said:
- High Risk – 33.5%
- Moderate Risk – 35.0%
- Slight Risk – 19%
- Minimal Risk – 12.5%
So you see, 68.5% of those surveyed understand the very real danger we face from breaches and hacks to all out attacks.
Our world is becoming increasingly reliant on technology and digital technology (the Internet) leads the pack. At this point in time, it is already a huge concern, but in the future, if more isn’t done in the line of security, it may bring the digital economy to a screeching halt. That future is getting closer by the minute. What are your thoughts? Do you think cyber security poses a great risk to the digital economy? If you do, you are with the majorit
