Ethics in Computing

Course: CSCI 1510

Part 1

• There are common misconceptions by thinking that large corporations make it easier to work, but in reality, bureaucracy and priorities (much like the government) can slow down progress.
• Success in big companies isn’t just about technical skills—it’s about leadership, creativity (in problem solving), and being able to navigate the internals of the company to cause change.
• People assume that cloud is inherently less secure that on-premises solutions, but that’s usually because people are ignorant of cloud security; a lot of the government uses cloud computing anyways.

Part 2

I think something important to me would be to enable two-factor authentication on all of my accounts—email, banking, and social media. I already use Google Authentication for a few websites (and SMS for my banking), but I think it would be smart to enable it for all websites. It would add another layer of security beyond just my password, which could be in a data breach.

I chose this because it would make my accounts much more secure, since it requires something I have (my Phone) rather than just something I know (my password). Many data breaches are because of compromised passwords, and 2FA is a barrier that can prevent unauthorized access to my accounts—even if my password was compromised.

By implementing two-factor authentication,I believe it will drastically reduce the likelihood of my accounts being hacked. Even if someone was to gain access to my password, they wouldn’t be able to log in without my second form of authentication. This extra step adds a “layer of defense” to my account, which wouldn’t completely stop unauthorized access to my accounts—but it would make it a lot harder.

Part 3

• What’s a moment in your career that made you rethink your approach to digital safety?
• What emerging technologies do you think will have the most significant impact on cybersecurity within the next five years?