Big data and databases have been a
wonderful break through. Technology has improved and made it easier for
companies and governments to keep tract of enormous data sets much easier. When
looking at big data it seems like nothing but benefits, on the outside looking
in it seems to be perfect. However, there is one huge downfall to big data and
databases, the vulnerability of getting hacked. When you have so much
information in one database it creates a big target for hackers.
Recently hackers have been able to
hack into a database that contains 50 million citizens information in Turkey.
This is a horrible situation that is happening right now, because nearly 50
million people are now vulnerable to identity theft. To be exact the, “leaked
database contains 49,611,709 entries”(Associated Press). These entries
contained a vast amount of important information such as, “ ID numbers,
addresses, birthdates and parents’ names”(Associated Press). The hackers made
all of this information available to the public by posting it online. This incident
is brand new and the Turkish officials have not made a statement yet about what
their plans are and how they are going to deal with it.
This isn’t
the first of its kind either, this same situation has happened back in April of
2015. This time hitting home, in the United States. In this case, “hackers
gained access to the personal information of more than 22 million U.S Federal
employees, retirees, contractors and others, and millions of sensitive and
classified documents”(Associated Press). These hacks could be and are
detrimental, and the information that is being leaked should not be leaked to
the general public. It takes away the safety of information and now no one can
be safe with putting anything in a database. Even though they are very secure,
there is always a possibility that they can be hacked and be exposed to
everything.
I believe that the Government needs to work with
the companies that have created these large databases and work together to make
them as secure as possible. If more and more of these hacks keep happening,
people won’t be able to trust putting their information into a database.
Databases are a great tools and provide a much easier way to hold large sums of
data and we don’t want to lose this technology to hackers that are exposing the
information with in them.
Works Cited
1) Press, Associated. "Data of Nearly 50 Million Turks
Allegedly Leaked Online."The New York Times. The New York Times, 04
Apr. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
The upside of technology is that it has made it easier for everyone to keep track of data in seconds. But the downside is that hacking into these databases has become a major problem and threat to individuals and national security for many nations. Almost everyday you hear some type of data breaches. There needs to be a way for businesses and governments to secure all this important data. However, it almost seems impossible since hackers will always come up with ways to compromise the newest technology. Just this morning on the news there was a report on ransomware and how hackers are attacking personal and networked computers by encrypting data. They prey on ones willingness to click on stories that contain a virus. A few months back they hacked into health records in California and just recently the government offices in Plainfield, NJ encrypting all networked computers and all data. The only way to get it to work is to pay the ransom, which will give you the key to unlock the encryption. Unfortunately, people are paying the ransom since it is relatively small compared to losing all this data. If the hackers are not stealing the information then they are encrypting it. Either way it is all for financial gain.
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