advantages of internet security essay

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10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Cyber Security

Advantages Of Cyber Security

Cyber attacks have become increasingly common, targeting businesses, governments, and individuals alike. According to a report by Cyber Security Ventures, global cybercrime damages could reach a staggering $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity . Let’s delve into the advantages and disadvantages of cyber security, its various types, and the key principles that come with it.

Table of Contents

What is Cyber Security?

Cyber security involves safeguarding computer systems, networks, and data from theft, damage, or unauthorized access. It includes a range of measures like firewalls , antivirus software, and encryption techniques to defend against cyber threats. The primary goal is to maintain the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information while reducing the risks associated with different types of cyber attacks .

Ethical hacking and Cyber security work hand-in-hand to protect and secure digital assets. Cyber security provides the necessary measures and strategies to protect computer systems, networks, and data, while ethical hacking aids in enhancing security by discovering overall weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the system. The main objective of ethical hacking is to improve the overall security of a system by finding vulnerabilities before they are exploited by malicious hackers. Organizations need both to maintain a robust defense against ever-evolving cybersecurity threats .

To learn more about Ethical hacking and how it works in identifying and covering loopholes, check out an ethical hacking course .

10 Advantages of Cyber Security

With the groundbreaking role of cyber security, its benefits are numerous, here are some of the advantages of cyber security.

1. Protection of Sensitive Data

Cyber security actions shield sensitive data from unsanctioned access, aiding in maintaining privacy and averting identity theft.

2. Business Continuity

By preventing cyber attacks, organizations can ensure the availability of their systems and services, minimizing downtime and potential losses.

3. Compliance with Regulations

Adhering to cyber security standards and regulations can protect businesses from legal issues and potential fines.

4. Enhanced Customer Trust

One of the major benefits of cyber security is building customer trust. A strong cyber security posture helps organizations build trust with their customers, partners, and stakeholders.

5. Competitive Benefit

Companies with robust cyber security measures in place are less vulnerable to cyber-attacks and can gain a competitive edge over competitors who may not prioritize security.

6. Early Detection and Response

Proactive cyber security measures can help organizations detect threats early and respond effectively, minimizing potential damage and disruption.

7. Intellectual Property Protection

Robust cyber security helps protect intellectual property (IP), such as patents, trade secrets, and copyrighted material, ensuring the organization’s competitive advantage is maintained.

8. Reputation Protection

A strong cyber security posture helps organizations avoid reputational damage caused by data breaches and other cyber incidents, which can lead to loss of customer trust and decreased business opportunities.

9. Enhanced Collaboration

Secure communication platforms and tools enable teams to collaborate effectively and share sensitive information without worrying about unauthorized access or data leaks.

10. Remote Work Security

As remote work becomes increasingly common, cyber security measures ensure the secure access and use of organizational resources, maintaining productivity while reducing risks associated with remote work environments.

Ethical Hacking course

10 Disadvantages of CyberSecurity

Despite the numerous advantages of cyber security, there are also some disadvantages as well they include:

1. High Cost of Implementation

Implementing advanced cyber security measures can be expensive, particularly for small businesses with limited resources. This includes the cost of hardware, and software, and hiring skilled professionals to maintain and manage the security infrastructure.

2. Complex Management

As cyber threats continue to evolve, managing the various components of cyber security becomes increasingly complex. This can be particularly challenging for businesses with limited technical expertise.

3. Potential False Sense of Security

Implementing cyber security measures may sometimes lead to a false sense of security, causing organizations to overlook other aspects of risk management, such as employee training and physical security.

4. Compatibility Issues

Cyber security tools and solutions may not always be compatible with existing systems and software, leading to integration challenges and potential security gaps.

5. Inconvenience to Users

Strict security protocols, such as multi-factor authentication and frequent password changes, can sometimes lead to inconvenience and reduced productivity among users.

6. Evolving Threat Landscape

Cyber threats are constantly evolving, making it difficult to keep up with the latest security measures and tools. Organizations must continually invest in research and development to stay ahead of potential attacks.

7. Human Error

Despite the best security measures in place, human error remains a significant risk factor. Users may inadvertently compromise systems through poor password practices, social engineering, or other mistakes.

8. Limited Effectiveness Against Insider Threats

Cyber security measures may not always be effective against malicious insiders who have legitimate access to systems and data, making it challenging to detect and prevent insider attacks.

9. Difficulties in Measuring ROI

Measuring the return on investment (ROI) in cyber security can be challenging, as it is often difficult to quantify the value of prevention or the impact of a successful cyber attack.

10. Balancing Security and Usability

Implementing stringent cyber security measures can sometimes hinder user experience and productivity, making it challenging for organizations to find the right balance between security and usability.

Also Read: Phishing in Cyber Security

Types of Cyber Security

As cyber security has become an indispensable part of our daily lives, it’s essential to understand its different aspects and how they benefit us. Let’s take a brief look at the various types of cyber security, including Network Security, Application Security, Cloud Security, and more.

  • Network Security: This type focuses on shielding network infrastructure from unauthorized access, misuse, and data modification.
  • Application Security: Involves securing software applications from threats that could exploit vulnerabilities during the development or deployment phase.
  • Cloud Security: Safeguards data and applications stored in the cloud against unauthorized access, data breaches, and other potential threats.
  • Information Security: Ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data, both in transit and at rest, through encryption, access controls, and monitoring.
  • Endpoint Security: Protects devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets from malicious attacks or unauthorized access.
  • Mobile Security: Focuses on securing mobile devices, applications, and data from cyber threats. Identity and Access Management (IAM): Manages and controls user access to resources within an organization to minimize the risk of unauthorized access or misuse of information.
  • Internet of Things (IoT) Security: Safeguards connected devices and networks within the IoT from potential cyber-attacks.
  • Data Security: Ensures the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data by implementing security measures such as encryption and access control.
  • Operational Security (OpSec): Focuses on the protection of sensitive information that could be exploited by adversaries, through policies, procedures, and security measures.

Also, explore Honeypots in cybersecurity .

Key Principles of Cyber Security

In today’s world, the realm of cyber security plays a pivotal role in safeguarding our digital assets. Here are the key principles of cyber security.

  • Risk Management: Recognizing, evaluating, and organizing hazards in order to apply suitable steps that decrease their possible consequences.
  • Network Security: Employing safety precautions like firewalls and systems for detecting intrusions to defend the network structure.
  • Malware Prevention: Utilizing antivirus programs and additional tools to discover, stop, and get rid of harmful software.
  • Secure Configuration: Making certain that systems, applications, and devices have secure configurations to reduce susceptibility.
  • Security Beyond Firewall: Introducing more protective layers, such as encryption and two-factor authentication, for added protection of sensitive data.
  • User Education and Awareness: Offering education and resources to assist users in comprehending online dangers and adopting secure internet habits.

Cyber security is crucial in today’s digital world to protect valuable information and infrastructure. Despite its challenges, organizations must prioritize it to minimize risks and safeguard assets. By integrating essential principles, they can navigate the digital landscape and mitigate potential threats which is why it is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of cyber security.

Learning cybersecurity is essential for safeguarding personal and organizational data against malicious attacks from hackers. By doing so, one can reduce exposure to potential financial and reputational risks.

Cyber safety is of immense importance for students in curbing instances of online harassment and promoting sensible digital conduct. Furthermore, it shields them from cyberbullying as well as fraudulent activities on the internet while avoiding questionable content.

Implementing effective cybersecurity measures in the workplace helps in securing confidential data and information from unwarranted exposure or theft. It further minimizes the likelihood of encountering financial setbacks that harm the reputation or legal liabilities.

Install and regularly update antivirus software, avoid downloading files from unknown sources or clicking on suspicious links, keep your operating system and applications updated, and practice safe browsing habits.

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to accounts by providing two different forms of identification. This typically involves a combination of something you know (password) and something you have (e.g., a verification code sent to your phone).

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advantages of internet security essay

A seasoned tech professional, Aseem Garg is Internshala’s Vice President of Engineering. A Full Stack Web Engineer and Android Engineer, he is responsible for leading and driving innovative technology at Internshala. With nine years of rich experience, he is an innovator - passionate about creating seamless web and mobile experiences while implementing efficient DevOps practices.

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Cyber Security Essay

Cyber security is one of the most important topics in today’s digital world. With technology evolving at an unprecedented pace and more companies going online than ever before, it’s essential that everyone understands the basics of cyber security. Here are some sample essays on cyber security.

  • 100 Words Essay On Cyber Security

As a student in today's digital world, it's important to remember the importance of cyber security. Today, almost everything that we do is done online or through the internet, and that means our personal information, like our passwords, banking information, and even our school work, is vulnerable to cyber security threats.

200 Words Essay On Cyber Security

500 words essay on cyber security.

Cyber Security Essay

Cyber security is the practice of protecting networks, systems, and programs from digital attacks. These attacks can come from many different sources, including hackers, viruses, and even from other people. In order to stay safe online, it's essential to understand the basics of cyber security. Cyber security is an ever-evolving field, and it's important for school students to stay informed and take the necessary steps to protect themselves online.

School students are the future of our society, and it's important to teach them the importance of cyber security from an early age. Cyber security is an ever-increasing problem in our digital world, and it's up to us to ensure that our students are aware of the risks and dangers that come with the internet.

What Is Cyber Security?

Cyber security is the practice of protecting digital devices and networks from unauthorised access and malicious activities. With the rise of technology and its integration into our lives, cyber security has become an integral part of our lives, and it's important for school students to understand the need for cyber security measures.

How To Protect Yourself From Cyber Crime?

One of the most important ways to protect your devices and networks from cyber threats is to create strong passwords and never share them with anyone else. Passwords are the first line of defence against cyber attacks, and it's important that school students understand how to create and use strong passwords. Additionally, students should be taught to never share personal information online, such as passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account information.

Staying informed is the best way to stay ahead of the latest threats, and it's important for students to stay up-to-date on the latest cyber security news and updates.

Cyber security is the use of antivirus and anti-malware software. These programs are designed to detect and block malicious programs, such as viruses, worms, and Trojans, before they can do any damage to your devices and networks. By teaching our students about the importance of cyber security, we can ensure that they will be better prepared to protect themselves and their devices from cyber threats.

Cyber Security is essential for all those who regularly and frequently use electronic devices. With so much of our sensitive data and documents stored on these gadgets, it is essential to ensure their protection. There are several ways to protect your devices from cyber threats, such as using Antivirus and Antimalware software, and implementing End-User Protection solutions. Taking the necessary steps to secure your devices can help keep your data safe and secure.

Causes Of Cyber Crime

There are many different causes of cybercrime, but most can be categorised into one of three categories:

Personal gain | This is perhaps the most common motivation for cybercrime, as it can be very lucrative. Cybercriminals may engage in activities such as identity theft, phishing scams, and credit card fraud in order to make money.

Revenge or vandalism | Some cybercriminals commit crimes out of a desire for revenge or simply to cause havoc. They may engage in activities such as denial of service attacks, website defacement, or even doxxing (releasing personal information online).

Political or ideological motivations | In some cases, cybercrime is committed for political or ideological reasons. For example, hackers may attack a website in order to protest its content or disrupt its operations.

How To Increase Cyber Security

For school students, cyber security is especially important. Many students use the internet for their studies, making them more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Hackers may try to access school networks, steal student data, or even disrupt classes. It’s important for students to know how to protect themselves from cyber threats. There are some simple steps that you can take to ensure your safety and security.

The first step is to create strong passwords for all of your accounts. Passwords should be hard to guess and should never be shared with anyone. Make sure to use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. It's also important to change your passwords regularly.

Next, you should be sure to protect your personal information. This means making sure that you don't share your passwords or other sensitive information online. Be sure to use an up-to-date antivirus program to scan your computer regularly for malicious software.

Finally, be sure to stay informed about the latest cyber security threats. Keeping up with the news and reading articles on cyber security can help you stay aware of the latest threats and how to protect yourself against them.

By following these tips, you can stay safe online and protect your personal information. Cyber security is an important issue and it's important to take it seriously. If you take the time to learn more about cyber security and make sure you take steps to protect yourself, you can stay safe online and enjoy the benefits of today's digital world.

Explore Career Options (By Industry)

  • Construction
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Bio Medical Engineer

The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary. 

Data Administrator

Database professionals use software to store and organise data such as financial information, and customer shipping records. Individuals who opt for a career as data administrators ensure that data is available for users and secured from unauthorised sales. DB administrators may work in various types of industries. It may involve computer systems design, service firms, insurance companies, banks and hospitals.

Ethical Hacker

A career as ethical hacker involves various challenges and provides lucrative opportunities in the digital era where every giant business and startup owns its cyberspace on the world wide web. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path try to find the vulnerabilities in the cyber system to get its authority. If he or she succeeds in it then he or she gets its illegal authority. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path then steal information or delete the file that could affect the business, functioning, or services of the organization.

Data Analyst

The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

Data are collected and examined to respond to questions, evaluate hypotheses or contradict theories. It is a tool for analyzing, transforming, modeling, and arranging data with useful knowledge, to assist in decision-making and methods, encompassing various strategies, and is used in different fields of business, research, and social science.

Geothermal Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as geothermal engineers are the professionals involved in the processing of geothermal energy. The responsibilities of geothermal engineers may vary depending on the workplace location. Those who work in fields design facilities to process and distribute geothermal energy. They oversee the functioning of machinery used in the field.

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive. 

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Geotechnical engineer

The role of geotechnical engineer starts with reviewing the projects needed to define the required material properties. The work responsibilities are followed by a site investigation of rock, soil, fault distribution and bedrock properties on and below an area of interest. The investigation is aimed to improve the ground engineering design and determine their engineering properties that include how they will interact with, on or in a proposed construction. 

The role of geotechnical engineer in mining includes designing and determining the type of foundations, earthworks, and or pavement subgrades required for the intended man-made structures to be made. Geotechnical engineering jobs are involved in earthen and concrete dam construction projects, working under a range of normal and extreme loading conditions. 

Cartographer

How fascinating it is to represent the whole world on just a piece of paper or a sphere. With the help of maps, we are able to represent the real world on a much smaller scale. Individuals who opt for a career as a cartographer are those who make maps. But, cartography is not just limited to maps, it is about a mixture of art , science , and technology. As a cartographer, not only you will create maps but use various geodetic surveys and remote sensing systems to measure, analyse, and create different maps for political, cultural or educational purposes.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Product Manager

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.  

Investment Banker

An Investment Banking career involves the invention and generation of capital for other organizations, governments, and other entities. Individuals who opt for a career as Investment Bankers are the head of a team dedicated to raising capital by issuing bonds. Investment bankers are termed as the experts who have their fingers on the pulse of the current financial and investing climate. Students can pursue various Investment Banker courses, such as Banking and Insurance , and  Economics to opt for an Investment Banking career path.

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Operations manager.

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Bank Probationary Officer (PO)

Welding engineer.

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues. 

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

An expert in plumbing is aware of building regulations and safety standards and works to make sure these standards are upheld. Testing pipes for leakage using air pressure and other gauges, and also the ability to construct new pipe systems by cutting, fitting, measuring and threading pipes are some of the other more involved aspects of plumbing. Individuals in the plumber career path are self-employed or work for a small business employing less than ten people, though some might find working for larger entities or the government more desirable.

Construction Manager

Individuals who opt for a career as construction managers have a senior-level management role offered in construction firms. Responsibilities in the construction management career path are assigning tasks to workers, inspecting their work, and coordinating with other professionals including architects, subcontractors, and building services engineers.

Urban Planner

Urban Planning careers revolve around the idea of developing a plan to use the land optimally, without affecting the environment. Urban planning jobs are offered to those candidates who are skilled in making the right use of land to distribute the growing population, to create various communities. 

Urban planning careers come with the opportunity to make changes to the existing cities and towns. They identify various community needs and make short and long-term plans accordingly.

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Naval Architect

A Naval Architect is a professional who designs, produces and repairs safe and sea-worthy surfaces or underwater structures. A Naval Architect stays involved in creating and designing ships, ferries, submarines and yachts with implementation of various principles such as gravity, ideal hull form, buoyancy and stability. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Veterinary Doctor

Pathologist.

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Speech Therapist

Gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

Hospital Administrator

The hospital Administrator is in charge of organising and supervising the daily operations of medical services and facilities. This organising includes managing of organisation’s staff and its members in service, budgets, service reports, departmental reporting and taking reminders of patient care and services.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Videographer

Multimedia specialist.

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Linguistic meaning is related to language or Linguistics which is the study of languages. A career as a linguistic meaning, a profession that is based on the scientific study of language, and it's a very broad field with many specialities. Famous linguists work in academia, researching and teaching different areas of language, such as phonetics (sounds), syntax (word order) and semantics (meaning). 

Other researchers focus on specialities like computational linguistics, which seeks to better match human and computer language capacities, or applied linguistics, which is concerned with improving language education. Still, others work as language experts for the government, advertising companies, dictionary publishers and various other private enterprises. Some might work from home as freelance linguists. Philologist, phonologist, and dialectician are some of Linguist synonym. Linguists can study French , German , Italian . 

Public Relation Executive

Travel journalist.

The career of a travel journalist is full of passion, excitement and responsibility. Journalism as a career could be challenging at times, but if you're someone who has been genuinely enthusiastic about all this, then it is the best decision for you. Travel journalism jobs are all about insightful, artfully written, informative narratives designed to cover the travel industry. Travel Journalist is someone who explores, gathers and presents information as a news article.

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

Merchandiser.

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Metallurgical Engineer

A metallurgical engineer is a professional who studies and produces materials that bring power to our world. He or she extracts metals from ores and rocks and transforms them into alloys, high-purity metals and other materials used in developing infrastructure, transportation and healthcare equipment. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

ITSM Manager

Information security manager.

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

Business Intelligence Developer

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Why Is Internet Security Important?

While the Internet has revolutionized communications, its conveniences and uses come at the price of new perils. Without any online defense, you leave yourself open to be a victim of fraud, theft and even property damage. Security and vigilance are vital in keeping yourself safe, and this responsibility isn't just on the individual; everyone is a potential target, including governments and private corporations.

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Without security measures in place, private or confidential information or messages can be viewed, intercepted and even stolen. Depending on the intent of the intrusion, this can range from the innocuous, like market research, to the devastating, like identity theft or other fraud. Governments and companies with sensitive information are also at risk as their own information is often valuable, and they also maintain private information on individuals such as customers or employees.

Identity Theft

Identity theft is a prevalent issue in the information age, as people buy, sell and exchange information online. Without adequate security, online transactions can lead to fraudsters getting a hold of your credit card information, personal information and even Social Security number. With this information, they can make fraudulent charges and purchases, take out loans, apply for government benefits and wreak havoc with your private life. While you can generally get everything sorted out, it takes time, effort and in some cases expense to undo the damage of an identity thief.

Data theft is another issue, wherein sensitive or personal data like videos, documents and photos are stolen digitally. This information may then be resold or distributed for illicit purposes. Companies risk losing important testing data, confidential financial files, trade secrets, product blueprints and more, from data thieves. Governments are at risk of having sensitive materials stolen, including data regarding ongoing research projects, personal correspondence between individuals and lists detailing military placements, strategies and the names of agents abroad.

Computer Damage

Maintaining solid computer security can also protect the computer itself from damage. Some hackers are more interested in disruption and causing damage than stealing information. Computer viruses, trojans and malicious software are all examples of disruptive issues facing many computer users, and these sometimes include data theft as well as rendering a computer inoperable. When focused on larger targets like government or corporate systems, these attacks can disrupt communications and services, leading to any number of secondary problems.

How to Protect Yourself

There are a few steps you can take to protect yourself and your computer online. Download or purchase an anti-virus program to protect your computer against viral threats and Trojans, in addition to a good anti-spyware or anti-malware program to protect your computer from tracking apps, spyware and other unsavory software. A firewall can also be a useful tool, as it can alert you to activity from programs you may not have been aware of. Most important, however, is that you exercise common sense online. Don't share personal information, don't click anything you don't trust and buy and sell only with reputable, secure businesses online.

  • Internet Society: Internet Security Through Resilience and Stability
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  • First Monday: Internet Security - Who is Leaving the "Virtual Door" Open and Why?
  • Symantec: Internet Security and Your Business - Knowing the Risks
  • Cisco: Internet Security
  • McAfee: The Important of Online and Offline PC Protection

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Essay on Cyber Security

Students are often asked to write an essay on Cyber Security in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Cyber Security

Understanding cyber security.

Cyber security is about protecting computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from digital attacks. It’s a critical area as our daily life, economic vitality, and national security rely on a stable, safe, and resilient cyberspace.

The Importance of Cyber Security

Cyber security is important because it helps protect sensitive information, like our personal data and banking details, from being stolen by hackers. It also safeguards against harmful viruses that can damage our devices.

Types of Cyber Threats

Common threats include malware, phishing, and ransomware. Malware is harmful software, phishing tricks people into revealing sensitive information, and ransomware locks users out until they pay a ransom.

Cyber Security Practices

Good practices include using strong passwords, regularly updating software, and not clicking on suspicious links. These can help protect us from cyber threats.

Also check:

  • Paragraph on Cyber Security
  • Speech on Cyber Security

250 Words Essay on Cyber Security

Introduction to cyber security.

Cybersecurity, a term that has gained paramount importance in the digital age, refers to the practice of protecting internet-connected systems, including hardware, software, and data, from digital attacks. Its significance is amplified by the increasing reliance on technology, which, while offering numerous benefits, also opens up new avenues for potential threats.

The digital landscape is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it facilitates communication, commerce, and innovation. On the other, it provides a fertile ground for cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity thus becomes crucial in safeguarding sensitive information, preventing unauthorized access, and maintaining system integrity.

Challenges in Cyber Security

However, the complexity and sophistication of cyber threats are growing at an alarming pace. Cybercriminals are using advanced techniques, such as AI and machine learning, to bypass traditional security measures. This necessitates the development of more robust, adaptive cybersecurity strategies.

The Future of Cyber Security

The future of cybersecurity lies in proactive defense mechanisms. By leveraging technologies like AI, predictive analytics, and blockchain, we can anticipate and neutralize threats before they cause harm. Furthermore, fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness is equally important to empower individuals and organizations against cyber threats.

In conclusion, cybersecurity is a vital aspect of our digital existence. Its importance, challenges, and future prospects underline the need for continuous research, development, and education in this field. As the digital landscape evolves, so too must our approach to cybersecurity.

500 Words Essay on Cyber Security

Cyber security, also known as information technology security, focuses on protecting computers, networks, programs, and data from unintended or unauthorized access, damage, or destruction. In the digital era, the importance of cyber security is growing exponentially due to the increasing reliance on computer systems, the internet, and wireless network standards such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and due to the growth of smart devices like smartphones and televisions.

The significance of robust cyber security measures cannot be understated. Cyber attacks can lead to serious consequences like identity theft, extortion attempts, deletion of important data, and even the disruption of normal business operations. In more extreme cases, they can lead to the compromise of national security. Hence, cyber security is not just a concern for businesses or governments, but it is a potential threat to all internet users.

Cyber threats can be broadly divided into three categories: Cybercrime includes single actors or groups targeting systems for financial gain or to cause disruption; Cyber-attack often involves politically motivated information gathering; and Cyberterrorism is intended to undermine electronic systems to cause panic or fear. Examples of these threats are malware, phishing, ransomware, and social engineering.

Cyber Security Measures

In response to these threats, several cyber security measures are being employed. These include firewalls, intrusion detection systems, anti-virus software, and encryption. Furthermore, organizations are increasingly recognizing the importance of information assurance, where data integrity, confidentiality, and availability are assured.

As technology evolves, so does the complexity and sophistication of cyber threats. Hence, the future of cyber security lies in constant evolution and adaptation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are becoming integral in combating cyber threats. These technologies can learn and adapt to new threats, making them more efficient than traditional security measures.

In conclusion, cyber security is a crucial aspect of our digital lives, and its importance will only increase with time. To ensure a secure digital environment, individuals, organizations, and governments must understand the potential threats and employ robust security measures to counter them. The future of cyber security is promising, with the advent of AI and ML, but the road ahead is challenging, requiring constant vigilance and adaptation to new threats.

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Cyber Security Essay for Students and Children

Cyber security essay.

Cybersecurity means protecting data, networks, programs and other information from unauthorized or unattended access, destruction or change. In today’s world, cybersecurity is very important because of some security threats and cyber-attacks. For data protection, many companies develop software. This software protects the data. Cybersecurity is important because not only it helps to secure information but also our system from virus attack. After the U.S.A. and China, India has the highest number of internet users.

cyber security essay

Cyber Threats

It can be further classified into 2 types. Cybercrime – against individuals, corporates, etc.and Cyberwarfare – against a state.

Cyber Crime

Use of cyberspace, i.e. computer, internet, cellphone, other technical devices, etc., to commit a crime by an individual or organized group is called cyber-crime. Cyber attackers use numerous software and codes in cyberspace to commit cybercrime. They exploit the weaknesses in the software and hardware design through the use of malware. Hacking is a common way of piercing the defenses of protected computer systems and interfering with their functioning. Identity theft is also common.

Cybercrimes may occur directly i.e,  targeting the computers directly by spreading computer viruses. Other forms include DoS attack. It is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. It suspends services of a host connected to the internet which may be temporary or permanent.

Malware is a software used to disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private computer systems. It usually appears in the form of code, scripts, active content, and other software. ‘Malware’ refers to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software, for example, Trojan Horses, rootkits, worms, adware, etc.

Another way of committing cybercrime is independent of the Computer Network or Device. It includes Economic frauds. It is done to destabilize the economy of a country, attack on banking security and transaction system, extract money through fraud, acquisition of credit/debit card data, financial theft, etc.

Hinder the operations of a website or service through data alteration, data destruction. Others include using obscene content to humiliate girls and harm their reputation, Spreading pornography, threatening e-mail, assuming a fake identity, virtual impersonation. Nowadays misuse of social media in creating intolerance, instigating communal violence and inciting riots is happening a lot.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Cyber Warfare

Snowden revelations have shown that Cyberspace could become the theatre of warfare in the 21st century. Future wars will not be like traditional wars which are fought on land, water or air. when any state initiates the use of internet-based invisible force as an instrument of state policy to fight against another nation, it is called cyberwar’.

It includes hacking of vital information, important webpages, strategic controls, and intelligence. In December 2014 the cyberattack a six-month-long cyberattack on the German parliament for which the Sofacy Group is suspected. Another example 2008 cyberattack on US Military computers. Since these cyber-attacks, the issue of cyber warfare has assumed urgency in the global media.

Inexpensive Cybersecurity Measures

  • The simplest thing you can do to up your security and rest easy at night knowing your data is safe is to change your passwords.
  • You should use a password manager tool like LastPass, Dashlane, or Sticky Password to keep track of everything for you. These applications help you to use unique, secure passwords for every site you need while also keeping track of all of them for you.
  • An easy way for an attacker to gain access to your network is to use old credentials that have fallen by the wayside. Hence delete unused accounts.
  • Enabling two-factor authentication to add some extra security to your logins. An extra layer of security that makes it harder for an attacker to get into your accounts.
  • Keep your Softwares up to date.

Today due to high internet penetration, cybersecurity is one of the biggest need of the world as cybersecurity threats are very dangerous to the country’s security. Not only the government but also the citizens should spread awareness among the people to always update your system and network security settings and to the use proper anti-virus so that your system and network security settings stay virus and malware-free.

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https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/why-security-and-privacy-matter-digital-world

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Why Security and Privacy Matter in a Digital World

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One cannot pick up a newspaper, watch TV, listen to the radio, or scan the news on the internet without some direct or veiled reference to the lack of information security or intrusions into personal privacy. Many intrusions into government and private-sector systems have exposed sensitive mission, business and personal information. Every day it seems that more and more systems are breached and more and more personal information is made available either on the web or, worse, the dark web . Given this backdrop, it is often easy to get lost in the details of cybersecurity and privacy and the seemingly endless discussions about cyber attacks, system breaches, frameworks, requirements, controls, assessments, continuous monitoring and risk management and forget why security and personal privacy matter in an increasingly digital world.

We are witnessing and taking part in the greatest information technology revolution in the history of mankind as our society undergoes the transition from a largely paper-based world to a fully digital world. As part of that transformation, we continue to push computers closer to the edge. The “edge” today is the burgeoning and already vast world of the “Internet of Things,” or IoT. This new world consists of an incredibly diverse set of familiar everyday technologies, including dishwashers, refrigerators, cameras, DVRs, medical devices, satellites, automobiles, televisions, traffic lights, drones, baby monitors, building fire/security systems, smartphones and tablets. It also includes technologies that are perhaps less familiar to the average person but absolutely vital to maintaining and safeguarding the familiar world in which they live: advanced military weapons systems; industrial and process control systems that support power plants and the nationwide electric grid, manufacturing plants and water distribution plants; emergency response systems; banking and financial systems; and transportation systems—in short, our most critical infrastructure. Yes, we have fully embraced this emerging technology and pushed computers, software and devices everywhere to the edge of this new world. And as those technologies, both familiar and critical, become increasingly integrated with IoT, so does information , all kinds of information, including intellectual property and your personal information.

It goes without saying that innovations in information technology and IoT will continue to make us more productive, help us solve difficult and challenging problems, entertain us, allow us to communicate with virtually anyone in the world instantaneously, and provide all kinds of additional, and previously unimaginable, benefits. For instance, who wouldn’t want an app that tells you the optimal time to go to the restroom during the movie you’re about to see at your local theater? These new technologies are not only compelling, but also intoxicating and addicting—leaving us with a huge blind spot that puts us at great risk of losing our property, our privacy, our security and, in some cases, our lives.

We have built an incredibly complex information technology infrastructure consisting of millions of billions of lines of code, hardware platforms with integrated circuits on computer chips, and millions of applications on every type of computing platform from smart watches to mainframes. And right in the middle of all that complexity, your information is being routinely processed, stored and transmitted through global networks of connected systems. From a security and privacy perspective, we are not only concerned about the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the data contained in the systems embedded deep in the nation’s critical infrastructure, but also of our personal information.

Recognizing the importance of both security and privacy safeguards for systems, organizations and individuals, NIST recently initiated several groundbreaking projects to bring these concepts closer together—to facilitate the development of stronger, more robust security and privacy programs and provide a unified approach for protecting all types of information, including personal information. The first installment in this new approach occurred with the release of NIST Special Publication 800-53, Revision 5 , which provided, for the first time in the standards community, a consolidated catalog of security and privacy controls—standing side by side with the broad-based safeguards needed to protect systems and personal privacy.

Today, NIST is announcing the second installment of the unified approach to privacy and security by releasing a discussion draft of NIST Special Publication 800-37, Revision 2 . This publication responds to the President’s Executive Order on Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure and the Office of Management and Budget’s Memorandum M-17-25 (implementation guidance for the Executive Order) to develop the next-generation Risk Management Framework (RMF 2.0) for systems, organizations and individuals. RMF 2.0 provides a disciplined, structured and repeatable process for organizations to select, implement, assess and continuously monitor security and privacy controls.

NIST Special Publication 800-37, Revision 2, empowers customers to take charge of their protection needs and provide security and privacy solutions to support organizational missions and business objectives. It includes a new organizational preparation step, instituted to achieve more timely, effective, efficient and cost-effective risk management processes. The organizational preparation step incorporates concepts from the Cybersecurity Framework to facilitate better communication between senior leaders and executives at the enterprise and mission/business process levels and system owners—conveying acceptable limits regarding the implementation of security and privacy controls within the established organizational risk tolerance. The enterprise-wide preparation also facilitates the identification of common controls and the development of organization-wide tailored security and privacy control baselines. This significantly reduces the workload on individual system owners, provides more customized security and privacy solutions, and lowers the overall cost of system development and protection.

And finally, RMF 2.0 helps organizations reduce the complexity of their IT infrastructure by consolidating, standardizing and optimizing systems, applications and services through the application of enterprise architecture concepts and models. Such complexity reduction is critical to identifying, prioritizing and focusing organizational resources on high-value assets that require increased levels of protection—taking steps commensurate with risk such as moving assets to cloud-based systems or shared services, systems and applications.

The transformation to consolidated security and privacy guidelines will help organizations strengthen their foundational security and privacy programs, achieve greater efficiencies in control implementation, promote greater collaboration of security and privacy professionals, and provide an appropriate level of security and privacy protection for systems and individuals.

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advantages of internet security essay

Ron Ross is a computer scientist and Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He specializes in cybersecurity, risk management, and systems security engineering.  Ron is a retired...

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Good afternoon Mr. Ross, I just want to let you know that I do admire your leadership at NIST with such an incredible publications like the SP-800's and others to keep our beautiful country safe. I did work before supporting and improving the ICD503 and your publications were read and exercise by me in order to do my job. I want to thank you for giving me opportunity to continue reading every day on your new development publications on Cyber Security and Information Assurance that are my passion. Have a wonderful day.

Best Regards Carlos G. Salinas

Thank you for your kind remarks, Mr. Salinas. They are very much appreciated. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to serve our public and private sector customers by providing standards, guidelines, and best practices to help them build robust security and privacy programs.

I only just now received the link to the draft SP 800-37. In my opinion, NIST did a great job on RMF already. Unfortunately, I am familiar with a segment of government that immediately assumes it must have its own variations of anything and everything. This "organization" made a mess of RMF from the start, seemingly only wanting to make it as painless as possible. They failed in that by the way. If I had to pick one overriding issue that I would change If I could, it would be the apparent universality of the term "organization" used in so many controls absent a consistent understanding of who or what part of a large organization is being addressed. When an assessment procedure tells me "organizations" are automatically compliant because <insertAgencyNameHere> has defined the <widget> for me, and this control part is not identified as a tier 1 or common offering, several veins of logic are now varicose. The very next control or part may speak of "organization" as if it is the CCP or the ISO without regard for what precedes or follows. My assumption is that many people worked on controls independently and never came to agreement on a standard definition of "organization."

Beautiful blog author.Thank you for sharing.Keep it up.Good wishes for your work.

Beautiful blog post author.Thank you.

Excellent post & thank you so much for sharing

Thank you for your post.

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Regions & Countries

4. the internet will continue to make life better.

A large share of respondents predict enormous potential for improved quality of life over the next 50 years for most individuals thanks to internet connectivity, although many said the benefits of a wired world are not likely to be evenly distributed.

Andrew Tutt , an expert in law and author of “An FDA for Algorithms,” said, “We are still only about to enter the era of complex automation. It will revolutionize the world and lead to groundbreaking changes in transportation, industry, communication, education, energy, health care, communication, entertainment, government, warfare and even basic research. Self-driving cars, trains, semi-trucks, ships and airplanes will mean that goods and people can be transported farther, faster and with less energy and with massively fewer vehicles. Automated mining and manufacturing will further reduce the need for human workers to engage in rote work. Machine language translation will finally close the language barrier, while digital tutors, teachers and personal assistants with human qualities will make everything from learning new subjects to booking salon appointments faster and easier. For businesses, automated secretaries, salespeople, waiters, waitress, baristas and customer support personnel will lead to cost savings, efficiency gains and improved customer experiences. Socially, individuals will be able to find AI pets, friends and even therapists who can provide the love and emotional support that many people so desperately want. Entertainment will become far more interactive, as immersive AI experiences come to supplement traditional passive forms of media. Energy generation and health care will vastly improve with the addition of powerful AI tools that can take a systems-level view of operations and locate opportunities to gain efficiencies in design and operation. AI-driven robotics (e.g., drones) will revolutionize warfare. Finally, intelligent AI will contribute immensely to basic research and likely begin to create scientific discoveries of its own.”

Arthur Bushkin , an IT pioneer who worked with the precursors to ARPANET and Verizon, wrote, “Of course, the impact of the internet has been dramatic and largely positive. The devil is in the details and the distribution of the benefits.”

Mícheál Ó Foghlú , engineering director and DevOps Code Pillar at Google, Munich, said, “Despite the negatives I firmly believe that the main benefits have been positive, allowing economies and people to move up the value chain, ideally to more rewarding levels of endeavor.”

Perry Hewitt , a marketing, content and technology executive, wrote, “On an individual basis, we will think about our digital assets as much as our physical ones. Ideally, we will have more transparent control over our data, and the ability to understand where it resides and exchange it for value – negotiating with the platform companies that are now in a winner-take-all position. Some children born today are named with search engine-optimization in mind; we’ll be thinking more comprehensively about a set of rights and responsibilities of personal data that children are born with. Governments will have a higher level of regulation and protection of individual data. On an individual level, there will be greater integration of technology with our physical selves. For example, I can see devices that augment hearing and vision, and that enable greater access to data through our physical selves. Hard for me to picture what that looks like, but 50 years is a lot of time to figure it out. On a societal level, AI will have affected many jobs. Not only the truck drivers and the factory workers, but professions that have been largely unassailable – law, medicine – will have gone through a painful transformation. Overall I am bullish in our ingenuity to find a higher and better use for those humans, but it seems inevitable that we’ll struggle through a murky dip before we get there. By 2069, we’ll likely be out the other end. My biggest concern about the world 50 years out is the physical condition of the planet. It seems entirely reasonable that a great deal of our digital lives will be focused on habitable environments: identifying them, improving them, expanding them.”

David Cake , an active leader with Electronic Frontiers Australia and vice chair of the ICANN GNSO Council, wrote, “Significant, often highly communication and computation technologically driven, advances in day-to-day areas like health care, safety and human services, will continue to have a significant measurable improvement in many lives, often ‘invisible’ as an unnoticed reduction in bad outcomes, will continue to reduce the incidence of human-scale disasters. Advances in opportunities for self-actualisation through education, community and creative work will continue (though monetisation will continue to be problematic).”

Eugene H. Spafford , internet pioneer and professor of computing sciences at Purdue University, founder and executive director emeritus of the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, commented, “New uses, information sources and paradigms will improve the lives of many. However, the abuses, dilution of privacy and crime will also make things worse.”

Jeff Jarvis, director of the Tow-Knight Center at City University of New York’s Craig Newmark School of Journalism, commented, “One need be fairly cynical about one’s fellow humans and somewhat hubristic about one’s own exceptional abilities to argue that most people will act against their own self-interest to adopt technologies that will be harmful to them. This is why I am driven nuts by the contentions that we have all become addicted to our devices against our will, that the internet has made us stupid in spite of our education, that social media has made us uncivil no matter our parenting, as if these technologies could, in a mere matter of a few years, change our very nature as human beings. Bull. This dystopian worldview gives people no credit for their agency, their good will, their common sense, their intelligence and their willingness to explore and experiment. We will figure out how to adopt technologies of benefit and reject technologies that harm. Of course, there will be exceptions to that rule – witness America’s inability to come to terms with an invention made a millennium ago: gunpowder. But much of the rest of the civilized world has figured that one out.”

Andrew Odlyzko , professor at the University of Minnesota and former head of its Digital Technology Center and the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, said, “Assuming we avoid giant disasters, such as runaway climate change or huge pandemics, we should be able to overcome many of the problems that plague humanity, in health and freedom from physical wants, and from backbreaking or utterly boring jobs. This will bring in other problems, of course.”

Pedro U. Lima , an associate professor of computer science at Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal, said, “Most of the focus on technology and particularly AI and machine learning developments these days is limited to virtual systems (e.g., apps for travel booking, social networks, search engines, games). I expect this to move, in the next 50 years, into networking people with machines, remotely operating in a myriad of environments, such as homes, hospitals, factories, sport arenas and so on. This will change work as we know it today, as it will change medicine (increasing remote surgery), travel (autonomous and remotely-guided cars, trains, planes), entertainment (games where real robots, instead of virtual agents, evolve in real scenarios). These are just a few ideas/scenarios. Many more, difficult to anticipate today, will appear. They will bring further challenges on privacy, security and safety, which everyone should be closely watching and monitoring. Beyond current discussions on privacy problems concerning ‘virtual world’ apps, we need to consider that ‘real world’ apps may enhance many of those problems, as they interact physically and/or in proximity with humans.”

Timothy Leffel , research scientist, National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, predicted, “Future historians will observe that, in many ways, the rise of the internet over the next few decades will have improved the world, but it hasn’t been without its costs that were sometimes severe and disruptive to entire industries and nations.”

Dave Gusto , co-director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University, commented, “Fifty years is a terrifically long time for forecasting. A lot might be riding on, for example, what happens with the current conflict around net neutrality and the way that public or private interests get to shape the net from now forward. But within either pathway – public-interest dominated or private-interest dominated – the ability of some actors to enjoy the highest-end benefits and many actors to use what they can access or can manage to learn is a likely contour to the overall system. I think that a vast diversity of uses will characterize the future system, focusing on experience, entertainment and education, enhanced by AR and VR.”

A representative for a Middle Eastern telecommunication directorate wrote that online life will continue to be a plus in most individuals’ lives, adding, “As far as technological history is concerned, there has been no single case that the advance of technology and innovation has worsened the lives of individuals. This is similarly valid for AI.”

Living longer and better lives is the shining promise of the digital age

Many respondents to this canvassing agreed that internet advancement is likely to lead to better human-health outcomes, although perhaps not for everyone. As the following comments show, experts foresee new cures for chronic illnesses, rapid advancement in biotechnology and expanded access to care thanks to the development of better telehealth systems.

Steve Crocker , CEO and co-founder of Shinkuro Inc., internet pioneer and Internet Hall of Fame member, responded, “Life will improve in multiple ways. One in particular I think worth mentioning will be improvements in health care in three distinct ways. One is significantly better medical technology related to cancer and other major diseases. The second is significantly reduced cost of health care. The third is much higher and broader availability of high-quality health care, thereby reducing the differences in outcomes between wealthy and poor citizens.”

Susan Etlinger , an industry analyst for Altimeter Group expert in data, analytics and digital strategy, commented, “Many of the technologies we see commercialized today began in government and university research labs. Fifty years ago, computers were the size of walk-in closets, and the notion of personal computers was laughable to most people. Today we’re facing another shift, from personal and mobile to ambient computing. We’re also seeing a huge amount of research in the areas of prosthetics, neuroscience and other technologies intended to translate brain activity into physical form. All discussion of transhumanism aside, there are very real current and future applications for technology ‘implants’ and prosthetics that will be able to aid mobility, memory, even intelligence, and other physical and neurological functions. And, as nearly always happens, the technology is far ahead of our understanding of the human implications. Will these technologies be available to all, or just to a privileged class? What happens to the data? Will it be protected during a person’s lifespan? What happens to it after death? Will it be ‘willed’ as a digital legacy to future generations? What are the ethical (and for some, religious and spiritual) implications of changing the human body with technology? In many ways, these are not new questions. We’ve used technology to augment the physical form since the first caveman picked up a walking stick. But the key here will be to focus as much (or more) on the way we use these technologies as we do on inventing them.”

Bernie Hogan , senior research fellow at Oxford Internet Institute, wrote, “Tech will make life better for individuals but not for societies. Life-saving drugs, genetic medicine, effective talk therapy, better recommender systems will all serve individuals in a satisfying way. I am concerned, however, that these will create increased dependency and passivity. We already have trends toward better-behaved, less-experimental and less-sexually-active youth. The increased sense that one’s entire life is marked from cradle to grave will create a safer and more productive life, but perhaps one that is a little less low-risk and constrained.”

Kenneth Grady , futurist and founding author of The Algorithmic Society blog, responded, “Fifty years from now today’s notions of privacy will feel as out of date as horse and buggy transportation feels to us. Our homes, transportation, appliances, communication devices and even our clothes will be constantly communicating as part of a digital network. We have enough pieces of this today that we can somewhat imagine what it will be like. Through our clothes, doctors can monitor in real time our vital signs, metabolic condition and markers relevant to specific diseases. Parents will have real-time information about young children. The difference in the future will be the constant sharing of information, data updates and responses of all these interconnected devices. The things we create will interact with us to protect us. Our notions of privacy and even liability will be redefined. Lowering the cost and increasing the effectiveness of health care will require sharing information about how our bodies are functioning. Those who opt out may have to accept palliative hospice care over active treatment. Not keeping track of children real-time may be considered a form of child neglect. Digital will do more than connect our things to each other – it will invade our bodies. Advances in prosthetics, replacement organs and implants will turn our bodies into digital devices. This will create a host of new issues, including defining ‘human’ and where the line exists between that human and the digital universe – if people are always connected, always on are humans now part of the internet?”

Martin Geddes , a consultant specializing in telecommunications strategies, said, “I am optimistic that we will find a new harmony with technology, having been in dissonance for a long time. This will not be due to newfound wisdom or virtue, but due to the collapse of longstanding cultures and structures that are psychopathic in nature, including today’s central banking systems and mass-surveillance systems. The digital and nano/biotech renaissance is only just beginning, and it will in particular transform health care. Our ‘satnav for live’ will help us navigate all daily choices that impact well-being.”

Danil Mikhailov , head of data and innovation for Wellcome Trust, responded, “My view is that the internet and related digital tech such as AI 50 years from now will have mostly positive effects, but only if we manage its development wisely. In health, the pervasiveness of powerful algorithms embedded in mobile tech doing things like monitoring our vitals and cross-referencing with our genetic information, will mean longer and healthier lives and the disappearance of many diseases. Similarly, AI embedded in devices or wearables can be applied to predict and ameliorate many mental health illnesses. However, there is potential for there to be huge inequalities in our societies in the ability of individuals to access such technologies, causing both social disruption and new causes for mental health diseases, such as depression and anxiety. On balance, I am an optimist about the ability of human beings to adjust and develop new ethical norms for dealing with such issues.”

Dan Robitzski , a reporter covering science and technology for Futurism.com, commented, “The powers that be are not the powers that should be. Surveillance technology, especially that powered by AI algorithms, is becoming more powerful and all-present than ever before. But to look at that and say that technology won’t help people is absurd. Medical technology, technology to help people with disabilities, technology that will increase our comfort and abilities as humans will continue to appear and develop.”

Emanuele Torti , a research professor in the computer science department at the University of Pavia, Italy, responded, “The digital revolution will bring benefits in particular for health, providing personalized monitoring through Internet of Things and wearable devices. The AI will analyze those data in order to provide personalized medicine solutions.”

João Pedro Taveira , embedded systems researcher and smart grids architect for INOV INESC Inovação, Portugal, wrote, “The most noticeable change for better in the next 50 years will be in health and average life expectancy. At this pace, and, taking into account the developments in digital technologies, I hope that several discoveries will reduce the risk of death, such as cancer or even death by road accident. New drugs could be developed, increasing the active work age and possibility maintaining the sustainability of countries’ social health care and retirement funds.”

José Estabil , director of entrepreneurship and innovation at MIT’s Skoltech Initiative, commented, “AI, like the electric engine, will affect society in ways that are not linearly forecastable. (For example, the unification of villages through electric engines in subways has created what we know as Paris, London, Moscow and Manhattan). Another area AI can have impact is in creating the framework within genomics, epigenomics and metabolomics can be used to keep people healthy and to intervene when we start to deviate from health. Indeed, with AI we may be able to hack the brain and other secreting cells so that we can auto-generate lifesaving medicines, block unwanted biological processes (e.g., cancer), and coupled to understanding the brain, be able to hack at neurological disorders.”

Jay Sanders , president and CEO of the Global Telemedicine Group, responded, “Haptics will afford the ability to touch/feel at a distance so that in the medical space a physician at one location will literally be able to examine a patient at a distance.”

A director of marketing for a major technology platform company commented, “I was an early user of ARPANET at Carnegie Mellon University, and even then we were able to utilize internet technology to solve human health problems to make citizens’ lives better and improve their access to care and services to improve their health outcomes. The benefits of the internet in the health care industry have continued to improve access to care and services, particularly for elderly, disabled or rural citizens. Digital tools will continue to be integrated into daily life to help the most vulnerable and isolated who need services, care and support. With laws supporting these groups, benefits in these areas will continue and expand to include behavioral health and resources for this group and for others. In the area of behavioral health in particular, digital tools will provide far-reaching benefits to citizens who need services but do not access them directly in person. Access to behavioral health will increase significantly in the next 50 years as a result of more enhanced and widely available digital tools made available to practitioners for delivering care to vulnerable populations, and by minimizing the stigma of accessing this type of care in person. It is a more affordable, personalized and continuous way of providing this type of care that is also more likely to attain adherence.”

The cyborg generation: Humans will partner more directly with technology

Many experts foresaw a future where the integration of technology and the human body would lead to a hybridization of humanity and technology.

Barry Chudakov , founder and principal of Sertain Research and author of “Metalifestream,” commented, “In 50 years the internet will not be a place to access through a device; it will be the all-surrounding ether of actions and intentions as machine intelligence and learning merge with human intelligence. This will be a natural evolution of adopting the logic of our tools and adjusting our lives accordingly. Pathways to digital life will be neural pathways inside our bodies and brains. We will eat our technology. What is now external mediated through devices will become neural, mediated through neural triggers along neural pathways. Having gone (and living) inside us, the merger with our tools and devices will continue to accelerate due to advances in machine learning. Human identity will morph into an open question, an ongoing discussion.”

Sam Lehman-Wilzig , associate professor and former chair of the School of Communication, Bar-Ilan University, Israel, wrote, “Given the huge (and completely unpredicted) changes of the ‘internet’ over the past 50 years, this question demands out-of-the-box thinking, which I will do here. Literally. In my estimation, within the next 50 years the internet will mainly become the platform for brain-to-brain communication, i.e., no keyboard, no voice, no screen, no text or pictures – merely ‘neuronic’ communication (thought transmission) at the speed of light, with internet speeds reaching terabytes per second, if not more than that. This also means that the main ‘content’ will be various forms of full-experience VR, fed directly to our brains by professional content providers – and perhaps (a bit science-fictiony at this stage) from our brains to other brains as well. The consequences of such a ‘hive mind’ communication are difficult (if not impossible) to predict, but certainly it will constitute a radical break with past human society.”

Joaquin Vanschoren , assistant professor of machine learning at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, responded, “We will be able to interact with each other and the world’s information more directly, without going through web interfaces, maybe using a brain-internet interface. A lot more content will be generated automatically, by AI systems that help us fill in the holes in our knowledge and make it more easily accessible.”

Frank Kaufmann , president of Filial Projects and founder and director of the Values in Knowledge Foundation, said, “Virtually nothing from today’s internet will be recognizable 50 years from now. Connectivity will become ever more ethereal and divorced from devices. Speeds will have exceeded what can any longer be sensed by the human organism. Storage will seem limitless, as it will exceed all possible need. Most connectivity will be integrated into the biological organism.… Tech will enable creative people to create more. It will enable good people to do more good. It will enable lazy people to be more lazy. It will enable bad people to do more bad. It will enable family and social people to be closer and more loving. It will enable lonely and isolated people to become more isolated. It will enable radical advances in all things people do – sports, arts, medicine, science, literature, nature exploration, etc.”

Karen Oates , director of workforce development for La Casea de Esperanza, commented, “At the rate at which technology is evolving, the internet as we currently know it and interact with it will have morphed into something very different. I can see people allowing implants in their bodies so they can connect to whatever the internet becomes – leveraging it as an auxiliary brain. This also, however, opens the door for manipulation and potential control of people. Like anything, technology can be used for good or evil. Much will be dependent on to what extent an individual is willing to sacrifice independence for comfort, security, etc.”

Several other respondents voiced concerns about this future. A law professor based at a U.S. university said, “The book ‘Re-Engineering Humanity’ provides a reasonable description of the slippery, sloped path we’re on and where we seem likely to be heading. The authors’ big concern is that humans will outsource so much of what matters about being human to supposedly smart technical systems that the humans will be little more than satiated automatons.”

David J. Krieger , co-director of the Institute for Communication & Leadership in Lucerne, Switzerland, wrote, “Everything will be ‘personalized’ but not individualized. The European Western paradigm of the free and autonomous individual will no longer be a major cultural force. Network collectivism will be the form in which human existence, now no longer ‘humanist’ will play itself out. There will be no other life than digital life and no one will really have the opportunity to live offline. And if so, then there will probably be a three-class society consisting of the cyborgs, the hybrids and the naturals. This will of course generate new forms of social inequality and conflict.”

Despite the likely drawbacks many respondents see the hybrid future as a strong possibility.

Mike Meyer , a futurist and administrator at Honolulu Community College, commented, “The world in 50 years is likely to be very difficult to imagine or understand in today’s language. The options available will be contingent on many layers of both technology and human adaption that will occur over the next 50 years. This will be true as the steady acceleration of the rate of change continues based loosely on Moore’s Law leading to true quantum computing. Genetic engineering combined with nano components that may also be bioelectronic in nature will allow planetary network communication with implants or, perhaps, full neural lace. The primary distinction will be between those people with full communication plus memory and sensor augmentation versus those who choose not to use artificial components in their bodies. Everyone will use a planetwide network for all communication and process activity whether through augmentation or very small headbands or other options that are not implanted.”

Ray Schroeder , an associate vice chancellor at the University of Illinois, Springfield, wrote, “Connected technologies and applications will become much more seamlessly integrated into people’s lives. Technologies are emerging, such as MIT’s AlterEgo, that point to practical telepathy in which human thought will directly connect with supercomputers – and through those computers with other people. This kind of thought-based communication will become ubiquitous through always-on, omnipresent networks. Personal devices will fade away as direct connectivity becomes ubiquitous. These advances will enable instant virtual ‘learning’ of new ideas and the whole range of literature. One will be able to ‘recall’ a novel or a treatise as if one had studied it for years. Such will be the state of augmented memory. There will be attempts to apply new rules/laws, but technological capability will most often trump artificial restrictions. This will further empower people, by the power of their purchases and choice-to-use to set standards of acceptability and preference.”

David Klann , consultant and software developer at Broadcast Tool & Die, responded, “Further integration of humans and machines is inevitable. More devices will be implanted in us, and more of our minds will be ‘implanted’ in devices. The inevitable ‘Singularity’ will result in changes to humans and will increase the rate of our evolution toward hybrid ‘machines.’ I also believe that new and modified materials will become ‘smart.’ For instance, new materials will be ‘self-aware’ and will be able to communicate problems in order to avoid failure. Ultimately, these materials will become ‘self-healing’ and will be able to harness raw materials to manufacture replacement parts in situ. All these materials, and the things built with them will participate in the connected world. We will see continued blurring of the line between ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ life.”

Anonymous respondents predicted:

  • “Artificial general intelligence and quantum computing available in a future version of the cloud connected to individual brain augmentation could make us augmented geniuses, inventing our daily lives in a self-actualization economy as the conscious-technology civilization evolves.”
  • “There is a probability of technological singularity. So far all the trends lead to it; it is hard to imagine a future in which this does not happen.”
  • “Connective symbiosis – human-human, machine-human, human-machine – will continue to thicken.”
  • “Implants in humans that continuously connect them to the web will lead to a loss of privacy and the potential for thought control, decline in autonomy.”

Everyone agrees that the world will be putting AI to work

The technology visionaries surveyed described a much different work environment from the current one. They say remote work arrangements are likely to be the rule, rather than the exception, and virtual assistants will handle many of the mundane and unpleasant tasks currently performed by humans.

Ed Lyell , longtime internet strategist and professor at Adams State University, wrote, “If we can change the governance of technology to focus on common good growth and not a division of winner/loser then we can see people having more control over their lives. Imagine that the tough, hard work, dangerous jobs are done by machines guided by computers and AI. We can see the prototype of these in how the U.S. is now fighting wars. The shooting is done by a drone guided by a smart guy/gal working a 9-to-5 job in an air-conditioned office in a nice town. Garbage could be picked up, sorted, recycled, all by robots with AI. Tedious surgery completed by robots and teaching via YouTube would leave the humans to the interesting and exciting cases, not the redoing of same lessons to yet more patients/students. Humans could live well on a 20-hour work week with many weeks of paid vacation. Having a job/career could become a positive, not just a necessity. With 24/7 learning and just-in-time capacity, people could change areas or careers many times with ease whenever they become bored. This positive outcome is possible if we collectively manage the creation and distribution of the tools and access to the use of new emerging tools.”

Jim Spohrer , director of the Cognitive OpenTech Group at IBM Research-Almaden, commented, “Everyone will have hundreds of digital workers working for them. Our cognitive mediators will know us in some ways better than we know ourselves. Better episodic memories and large numbers of digital workers will allow expanded entrepreneurship, lifelong learning and focus on transformation.”

Kyle Rose , principal architect, Akamai Technologies, wrote, “As telepresence and VR become more than research projects or toys, the already small world will shrink further as remote collaboration becomes the norm, resulting in major social changes, among them allowing the recent concentration of expertise in major cities to relax and reducing the relevance of national borders. Furthermore, deep learning and AI-assisted technologies for software development and verification, combined with more abstract primitives for executing software in the cloud, will enable even those not trained as software engineers to precisely describe and solve complex problems. I strongly suspect there will be other, unpredictable disruptive social changes analogous to the freer movement of capital enabled by cryptocurrencies in the last decade.”

David Schlangen , a professor of applied computational linguistics at Bielefeld University, Germany, said, “Physical presence will matter less, as high-bandwidth transmissions will make telepresence (in medicine, in the workplace, in in-person interactions) more viable.”

Ken Goldberg , distinguished chair in engineering, director of AUTOLAB and CITRIS at the University of California, Berkeley, said, “I believe the question we’re facing is not ‘When will machines surpass human intelligence?’ but instead ‘How can humans work together with machines in new ways?’ Rather than worrying about an impending Singularity, I propose the concept of Multiplicity: where diverse combinations of people and machines work together to solve problems and innovate. In analogy with the 1910 High School Movement that was spurred by advances in farm automation, I propose a ‘Multiplicity Movement’ to evolve the way we learn to emphasize the uniquely human skills that AI and robots cannot replicate: creativity, curiosity, imagination, empathy, human communication, diversity and innovation. AI systems can provide universal access to sophisticated adaptive testing and exercises to discover the unique strengths of each student and to help each student amplify his or her strengths. AI systems could support continuous learning for students of all ages and abilities. Rather than discouraging the human workers of the world with threats of an impending Singularity, let’s focus on Multiplicity where advances in AI and robots can inspire us to think deeply about the kind of work we really want to do, how we can change the way we learn and how we might embrace diversity to create myriad new partnerships.”

Kristin Jenkins , executive director of BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium, said, “Access to information is enormously powerful, and the internet has provided access to people in a way we have never before experienced. This means that people can learn new skills (how to patch your roof or make bread), assess situations and make informed decisions (learn about a political candidate’s voting record, plan a trip), and teach themselves whatever they want to know from knowledgeable sources. Information that was once accessed through print materials that were not available to everyone and often out of date is now much more readily available to many more people. Ensuring access is another huge issue with internet 2.0/AI. Access to these tools is not guaranteed even within the U.S. – presumably one of the best places in the world to be wired. In many cases, access to current technology in developing areas of the world allows populations to skip expensive intermediate steps and use tools in a way that improves their quality of life.  Ensuring that people all over the world have access to tools that can improve their lives is an important social justice issue.”

Rich Ling , a professor of media technology at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, responded, “In the next 50 years there will be significant changes in the way that we work. The disruption of that will play through to the way people identify themselves and can also be turned into political movements. AI is on the point of eliminating a wide variety of jobs and professions (taxi driver, accountant, law clerk, etc.). At the same time a large portion of our identity often comes from an idealized sense of our work. Witness the notion of being a cowboy. This is a real job for a small number of people, but it is an identity for many. In the same way, there is an identity in being a truck driver, an insurance adjuster, etc. It often does not have the same panache as the idealized version of being a cowboy, but it’s nonetheless an identity. If that is taken away from people it can, in the worst case, lead to populist political movements. I answered that the general trend will be positive, but I expect that it is not a simple path to better lives through the application of IT. There are many social and eventually political issues that will be played out.”

Divina Frau-Meigs , professor of media sociology at Sorbonne Nouvelle University, France, and UNESCO chair for sustainable digital development, responded, “The most important trend to follow is the way game/play will become the new work. Convergence of virtual reality and immersive devices will modify the rules determining how we interact with each other and with knowledge and information in the future. These ‘alternative’ realities will enable more simulations of situations in real life and will be necessary in decision-making every step of our daily lives. We will need to be conscious of the distinction between game and play, to allow for leisure time away from rule-bound game-as-the-new-work. This will be particularly necessary for environmental issues to be solved creatively.”

Estee Beck , assistant professor at the University of Texas and author of “A Theory of Persuasive Computer Algorithms for Rhetorical Code Studies,” responded, “Society will shift toward educating the public on reading and writing code at an accelerated rate. Coding literacy will become part of K-12 curricula to prepare citizens for both STEM-related careers and consumer-oriented DIY solutions of tech problems. On the latter, because of the mass coding literacy spread in primary and secondary schooling, the ‘handyman’ will evolve into a tech tinkerer or handyman 2.0. Already acquainted with basic and intermediate home maintenance of basic lighting, plumbing and painting, the handyman 2.0 will fix code in home appliances, run software updates to modify and personalize processes in the home. The handyman 2.0 might run their own server and develop a self-contained smartphone and security system to protect against internet-related attacks. For those unable or uninterested in being a handyman 2.0, they can hire general and specialized contractors from a new industry of handymen 2.0. This industry – with public and private certifications – will employ hundreds of thousands of laborers and enjoy revenues in the billions.”

Hume Winzar , associate professor and director of the business analytics undergraduate program at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, wrote, “Working and study at a distance will be normalized, so lifestyle options will be wider. We won’t need to live/work/study in a major city to enjoy the best of what is available. Done right, it will expand opportunity for many, too.”

Barrack Otieno , general manager at the Africa Top-Level Internet Domains Organization, wrote, “I expect technology to enhance the work environment. The internet will mostly be used to enhance communication, coordination and collaboration.”

Benjamin Kuipers , a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan, wrote, “In the post-World War II era, many people believed that American society was essentially benevolent, providing opportunities for political, economic and social advancement for individuals and families over decades and generations. This was somewhat true for the majority, but dramatically untrue for many minorities. We may have the opportunity to provide this societal benevolence for everyone in our society. The technological, often digital, tools we are creating have the promise of greatly increasing the resources available in society. While it may be possible to automate some current jobs, people have an intrinsic need for meaningful work. If we can use these new resources to support them, many jobs can be created to provide meaningful work for many people, and to improve the environment for everyone in society. Some examples of such jobs are child and elder care, and creation and maintenance of green spaces ranging from urban parks to rural farms to wilderness environments and many others. A national service requirement for young people gets certain kinds of work done, but also provides training in practical skills and practical responsibility, and also exposes individuals to the diversity of our society. Technological change produces resources that allow new things to be done and reduces certain constraints on what can be done. But we need to learn which goals we should pursue.”

Lane Jennings , a recent retiree who served as managing editor for the World Future Review from 2009 to 2015, wrote, “Entire classes of humans (drivers, construction workers, editors, medical technicians, etc.) are likely to be replaced by AI systems within the next 50 years. Whether individual members of such groups feel their lives have been improved or made worse will vary depending on many factors. Suffice it to say that public support of some kind to give displaced workers the means to live in relative security and comfort is essential. Moreover, this support must be provided in a way that preserves self-respect and promotes optimism and ambition. A world of former workers who perceive themselves as having been prematurely retired while machines provide the goods and services they once supplied seems to me highly unstable. To be happy, or at least contented, people need a purpose beyond simply amusing themselves and passing time pleasantly. One of the major functions of the internet in 2069 may be to facilitate contact between people with skills who want to work and jobs that still need doing in spite of high-tech robots and ubiquitous AI.”

Mark Crowley , an assistant professor expert in machine learning and core member of the Institute for Complexity and Innovation at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, wrote, “Technology affects people asymmetrically. Diseases will be cured with machine learning, profits will rise with automation and artists, engineers and scientists will be able to do more with less time and resources than ever before. However, many people will lose the only jobs they’ve ever known, and many others will feel alienated and left behind. Will society take steps to adapt its social standards? Will education adapt to prepare each generation for the reality ahead rather than focusing on the past? Will we allow people to live, with dignity, their own life, even if rapid technological changes leave them without a job that we would traditionally call ‘useful’ or productive? That depends on politics.”

Josh Calder , a partner at the Foresight Alliance, commented, “Changes will be for the better if the wealth generated by automation is spread equitably, and this will likely require significant changes to economic systems. If wealth concentration is accelerated by automation, the average person could be worse off.”

In 2069 the ‘new normal’ will be …

If the future is to change as dramatically and rapidly as many of the survey respondents believe, the world will see seismic shifts in norms and in what might be considered “normal” life.

Cliff Lynch , director of the Coalition for Networked Information, responded, “Over the next 20 to 30 years I expect to see enormous renegotiation of the social, cultural and political norms involving the digital environment.”

Alistair Nolan a senior policy analyst in the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, wrote, “I speculate that individuals’ interaction with digital technologies will become much more pervasive and intimate than it is already. Digital technology will be used to counter some of the stresses created by economic development and a digital culture. Digital avatars, for example, might provide intelligent company for the old and lonely, coaching those subject to psychological disorders, encouraging and guiding the sedentary to adopt healthier lifestyles, and so on. But changes and societal stresses brought by digital technologies may require a fundamental overhaul of the social contract. A new digital social contract will likely be needed, the specifics of which we cannot be sure now, but the contours of which we see suggested today in proposals ranging from universal basic income to institutionally mandated time free from digital distraction. The hope is that political processes allow our social arrangements to adjust at a pace commensurate with broader technological change, and that dysfunction in political processes is not aggravated by digital technologies. It has been commented that when humankind attempts to take astronauts to Mars the primary challenge will not be technological. Instead, it will be social: namely, the ability of unrelated individuals to live in close confinement for long periods of time. At the level of entire polities, in a similar way, our primary challenge may be living together in civil ways, attending to the full range of human needs, while the technology brings opportunities to carry us forward, or carry us off course.”

Greg Shannon , chief scientist for the CERT Division at Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, said, “Pervasive/complete/competing memories – capture/network/storage tech will allow complete digital records of each life, with fast recall for discussion, disagreements and manipulation. What will it mean to not have to remember, that you can recall the video with higher fidelity than one could ever remember? This will disrupt social norms. Communities specified by degrees of anonymity and other variable social norms. With pervasive sensing/monitoring, communities can define and enforce norms. From everyone wears green on April 20 to verbal violence is OK (or not) to which laws are well-defined and must be followed 100% of the time (what does it mean to really stop at a stop sign?). AI and IT (information technology) can define, enforce and update norms at scale and quickly…. No one is perfect and social norms in communities will vary with AI/IT helping ensure/permit the varied norms. Non-locality of communities. We already see this today with the various groups – mailing lists, conference calls, website, hashtags, etc. – that define communities that can be very tight/loose, small/large local/global. This might impact happiness; if everyone physically around you is a stranger (not in one of your communities), what will that mean for the physiological aspects of happiness – touch, smell, tastes, complex sounds and sights? At a technical level, the RF (radio frequency) signature of [an] individual will become increasingly important as the wired last mile disappears. Social norms will include RF – peaceful or aggressive/harmful. And you won’t be able to hide it [any] more than you can hide walking down the street.”

Betsy Williams , a researcher at the Center for Digital Society and Data Studies at the University of Arizona, wrote, “Free internet-connected devices will be available to the poor in exchange for carrying around a sensor that records traffic speed, environmental quality, detailed usage logs, and video and audio recordings (depending on state law). There will be secure vote-by-internet capabilities, through credit card or passport verification, with other secure kiosks available at public facilities (police stations, libraries, fire stations and post offices, should those continue to exist in their current form). There will be a movement online to require real-name verification to comment on more reputable sites; however, this will skew participation tremendously toward men, and the requirements will be reversed after a woman is assaulted or killed based on what she typed in a public-interest discussion.”

Pamela Rutledge , director of the Media Psychology Center, responded, “Starting with Generation Z and going forward, internet and 24/7 real-time connectivity will no longer be viewed as a ‘thing’ independent from daily life, but integral, like electricity. This has profound psychological implications about what people assume as normal and establishes baseline expectations for access, response times and personalization of functions and information. Contrary to many concerns, as technology becomes more sophisticated, it will ultimately support the primary human drives of social connectedness and agency. As we have seen with social media, first adoption is noncritical – it is a shiny penny for exploration. Then people start making judgments about the value-add based on their own goals and technology companies adapt by designing for more value to the user – we see that now in privacy settings and the concerns about information quality…. Technology is going to change whether we like it or not – expecting it to be worse for individuals means that we look for what’s wrong. Expecting it to be better means we look for the strengths and what works and work toward that goal. Technology gives individuals more control – a fundamental human need and a prerequisite to participatory citizenship and collective agency. The danger is that we are so distracted by technology that we forget that digital life is an extension of the offline world and demands the same critical, moral and ethical thinking.”

Geoff Livingston , author and futurist, commented, “Technology will become a seamless experience for most people. Only the very poor who cannot afford technology and the very rich who can choose to separate themselves from it will be free from connectedness. When I consider the current AI conversation, I often think the real evolution of sentient beings will be a hybrid connectedness between human and machine. Our very existence and day-to-day experience will be through an augmented experience that features faster thinking and more ethereal pleasures. This brings a question of what is human? Since most of us will be living in a machine-enhanced world, the perspective of human reality will always be in doubt. Most will simply move through their existence without a thought, able to change and alter it with new software packages and algorithms, accepting their reality as the new normal. Indeed, perception will become reality. There will be those who decry the movement forward and wish for yesteryear’s unplugged mind. The counter movement against the internet of 2070 will be significant, and yet much like today’s Luddite, it will find itself in the deep minority. For though the cultural implications will be significant, the internet of 2070 offers the world a much more prosperous and easier life. Most will choose comfort over independence from devices.”

Meryl Alper , an assistant professor of communication at Northeastern University and a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, wrote, “Parents will be inundated by non-intuitive, AI-sourced information about their children (e.g., their moods, their behaviors) through the data collected about them in their everyday lives. Parents will face a choice about knowing too much about every single aspect of what their child does and says (be it with them or without them) or not knowing all the details – while being aware that someone else (teachers, doctors, law enforcement) is compiling this information for later determinations of some kind about their child. Parents will ultimately be encouraged to automate this data-intensive parenting, but this itself will create more work for parents (and thus more work for parents to outsource).”

Uta Russmann , professor in the Department of Communication at FHWien der WKW University of Applied Sciences for Management & Communication, warned, “In 50 years every aspect of our life will be connected, organized and hence, partly controlled, as technology platform and applications businesses will take this opportunity. A few global players will dominate the business; smaller companies (startups) will mostly have a chance in the development sector. Many institutions, such as libraries, will disappear – there might be one or two libraries that function as museums to show how it used to be. People who experienced today’s world will definitely value the benefits and amenities they have through technology (human-machine/AI collaboration). If technology becomes part of every aspect of our lives we will have to give up some power and control. People thinking in today’s terms will lose a certain amount of freedom, independency and control over their lives. People born after 2030 will probably just think these technologies produced changes that are mostly for the better. It has always been like this – people have always thought/said ‘in the old days everything was better.’”

Danny Gillane , a netizen from Lafayette, Louisiana, commented, “The content owners will become the platform companies (Disney, Time Warner, etc.), and the platform companies will become the content owners (Comcast, Netflix, etc.). In the U.S., we will give up more privacy to gain more convenience. We will have to choose between paying with our wallets or paying with our personal information in order to keep up with the Joneses. Collaboration and communication will become less personal as more of it will be done through virtual reality and through our devices. The promise of worldwide connection will lessen as Europe places restrictions on tech companies to protect its citizens’ rights, but the U.S. will pass laws to protect shareholders even at the expense of its citizens’ rights. Unless the focus of technology innovation moves away from consumer entertainment and communication products (such as social networks) and more toward medical and scientific advances, we will see fewer people truly benefiting from the internet. The money that fuels America’s politics already fuels its legislative efforts, or lack of, with regard to technology. So, I actually don’t think we’ll see any actual change, unless one considers for-profit companies having an even larger presence in more parts of our lives more often and in more ways.”

Justin Reich , executive director of MIT Teaching Systems Lab and research scientist in the MIT Office of Digital Learning, responded, “The trends toward centralization and monopolization will persist. The free, open internet that represented a set of decentralized connections between idiosyncratic actors will be recognized as an aberration in the history of the internet. Today’s internet giants will probably be the internet giants of 50 years from now. In recent years, they’ve made substantial progress in curtailing innovation through acquisitions and copying. As the industry matures, they will add regulatory capture to their skill sets. For many people around the world, the internet will be a set of narrow portals where they exchange their data for a curtailed set of communication, information and consumer services.”

Michael R. Nelson , a technology policy expert for a leading network services provider who worked as a technology policy aide in the Clinton administration, commented, “We will see more change and disruption in the next 10 years than we have seen in the last 20. If governments and incumbents allow it, we could see twice as much. All we know about 2069 is that data storage, network capacity and tools to turn data into knowledge will be basically unlimited and cost almost nothing. But, we also know that the wisdom needed to use the power of technology will not be available to everyone. And we also know that political forces will try to create scarcity and favor some groups over others. Let us hope that the engineers innovate so fast that consumers have the tools and choices they need to overcome such constraints.”

Guy Levi , chief innovation officer for the Center for Educational Technology, based in Israel, wrote, “Digital tools will be part of our body inside and remotely, and will assist us in decision- making constantly, so it will become second nature. Nonetheless, physical feelings will still be exclusively ‘physical,’ i.e., there will be a significant difference between the ‘sensor-based feelings’ and real body feelings, so human beings will still have some advantages over technology. This, I believe, will last forever. Considering this, physical encounters among people will become more and more important and thus relationships, especially between couples, will prosper. It will be the return of LOVE.”

No need to give it orders – your digital assistant already knows what you want

Many of these experts expect that – despite some people’s worries over privacy issues – digital experiences will be far more personalized in 2069. One likely trend: Instead of having to directly communicate requests to a device, AI-enabled, database-fed digital technologies will anticipate individuals’ needs and provide customized solutions.

Michael Wollowski , associate professor of computer science and software engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, expert in the Internet of Things, diagrammatic systems and artificial intelligence, wrote, “Much of our lives will be automated. Better yet, we will be in control of the degree of automation. Technology will assume the role of a polite personal assistant who will seamlessly bow in and out. Technology based on learned patterns of behavior will arrange many things in our lives and suggest additional options.”

Peter Reiner , professor and co-founder of the National Core for Neuroethics at the University of British Columbia, Canada, commented, “The internet will remain a conduit for information about us as well as a tool for us to access information about the world. Whilst many commentators rightly worry about the degree to which apps can know about us today, we are only at the early stages of corporate and governmental surveillance of our inner lives. In 50 years’ time, apps will be remarkably more sophisticated in terms of their knowledge about us as agents – our wants and desires, our objectives and goals. Using that information, they will be able make decisions that align with our personal goals much better than they can do today, and as this happens they will become bona fide extensions of our minds – digital (or as seems likely, quantum-based) information-processing interfaces that are always available and seamlessly integrate with the human cognitive toolkit. These cognitive prostheses will be so much a part of our everyday lives that we will barely notice their existence. Our reliance upon them will be both a strength and a weakness. Our cognitive prowess will substantially expand, but we will feel diminished in their absence.”

David Zubrow , associate director of empirical research at the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute, said, “Networked devices, data collection and information on demand will become even more ubiquitous. I would hope that better curation of information along with its provenance occurs. The trend of digital assistants that learn your preferences and habits from all the devices that you interact with will become integrated with each other and take on a persona. They may even act on your behalf with a degree of independence in the digital and physical worlds. As AI advances and becomes more independent and the internet becomes the world in which people live and work, laws for responsibility and accountability of the actions of AI will need to be made.”

Daniel Siewiorek , a professor with the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, predicted, “We will all have virtual coaches that learn and grow with us. They will be in communication with the virtual coaches of others, allowing us to learn from the experience of others. For example, my grandfather could teach me how to swing a baseball bat through his virtual coach even though my grandfather passed away before I was born.”

Gary Kreps , distinguished professor of communication and director of the Center for Health and Risk Communication at George Mason University, wrote, “Future computing systems will be fully integrated into everyday life, easy to access and use, and adaptable to meeting individual preferences and needs. These devices will serve as integrated personal assistants that can intuitively provide users with relevant information and support. There will be no need for typing in requests, since systems will be voice- and perhaps even thought-activated. These systems will adapt to user communication styles and competencies, using familiar and easy to understand messages to users. These messages will be presented both verbally and visually, with the ability to incorporate vivid examples and relevant interesting stories for users. Information content will build upon user preferences, experiences and needs. These personal computing systems will learn about users and adapt to changing user needs, assisting users in accomplishing important tasks and making important decisions. These systems will also automatically network users to relevant personal and professional contacts to facilitate communication as desired by users. The systems will also help users control other forms of technology, such as transportation, communication, health care, educational, occupational, financial, recreational and commercial applications. Care must be taken to program these systems to be responsive to user preferences and needs, easy to use, adaptive to changing conditions and easy for users to control.”

Mike Meyer , futurist and administrator at Honolulu Community College, commented, “It is becoming clear that, as human numbers increase to 10 billion and beyond in the next 50 years, diversity will be more and more valuable. The very nature of the technology that will become part of our bodies … [It] will shape the very nature of our communities and the natural result will be homogenization of the species. The nature of [the] planet will become predominantly urban with constant instantaneous communication. We are already well on the way to a planetary culture based on current metropolitan areas. This is a tremendous benefit allowing the move to AI-based management following universally defined and expanded rights. The desire will be for change and difference, innovation and originality to counter the growing sameness. This may, finally, eliminate the problem of irrational bigotry, racism and xenophobia. But that will lead to personal augmentation and, probably, genetic engineering to regain diversity under our individual control. A major challenge that I see is the management of virtual worlds for people with specific ideas or ideals who wish to and could live in the world as they want it to be. How will this be handled physically (‘The Matrix’ model) and morally? Living as master of a slave plantation may be desired by some. Should that be an option with no ‘real’ people involved? Overall the tremendous expansion of options will be good. But more questions will arise from this and answers may be difficult.”

Ian Rumbles , a quality-assurance specialist at North Carolina State University, said, “Fifty years from now the internet will be available to us through us thinking, versus using a keyboard or speaking. The display of data will be visible only to the user and how that display is shown will be totally customized for that user. The ability to obtain answers to questions and look up information in a format that is defined by the user will greatly improve the lives of people.”

More leisure time expected in ‘real life’ and virtual worlds

Could it be true that technology will finally create more free time? Some respondents in this study expect that the evolution of digital technologies will allow for more leisure activities and less “work.” Some predict people may choose to live most of their lives in a virtual reality that lacks the messy authenticity of real life. They also predict that in the widening global media marketplace of the future individuals will have access to a wider range of entertainment options than ever before.

Dan Schultz , senior creative technologist at the Internet Archive, said, “The world is about to have a LOT more time on its hands, a culture-redefining level of newfound time. Governments will need to figure out how to ensure people are compensated for that time in ways that don’t correlate to capitalistic value, and people are going to need creative outlets for their free time. We’re going to need better mental health services; we’re going to need to finally redefine the public education system to shift away from the 19th century factory model. It will either be a golden age for invention, leisure, entertainment and civic involvement, or it will be a dystopia of boredom and unemployment.”

James Gannon , global head of e-compliance for emerging technology, cloud and cybersecurity at Novartis, responded, “In 50 years machine-to-machine communication will have reduced a lot of menial decision-making for the average person. Smart-home technology manages the basic functions of the household, negating the need for many manual labor roles such as cleaners and gardeners. Many services are now delivered remotely such as telehealth and digital therapeutics…. Technology and the internet have already dramatically increased the standard of living for billions of people; this trend will not cease.”

Chao-Lin Liu , a professor at National Chengchi University, Taiwan, commented, “If we can handle the income and work problems, lives will be easier for most due to automation.”

Paola Perez , vice president of the Internet Society chapter in Venezuela and chair of the LACNIC Public Policy Forum, responded, “Technology will make everything in our lives. We won’t drive, we won’t cook. Apps are going to be adapted to all our needs. From the moment we wake up we are going to have technology that cooks for us, drives for us, works for us and suggests ideas for our work. Problems are going to be solved. But all our data is going to be known by everybody, so we won’t have private lives.”

Alex Smith , partner relationship manager at Monster Worldwide, said, “Everything will be centered around saving us time – giving us back more time in our days.”

A professor of communications said, “Simple, mundane tasks will be taken care of by AI, allowing more time for creative thinking, arts, music and literature.”

David Wells , the chief financial officer at Netflix at the time of this canvassing, has an idea for how to fill all of that free time. He predicted, “Continued global connectedness with our entertainment, music and news will mean global popularity of some media with a backdrop of local flavor that may be regional and/or hyper local. 3D visual (virtual) rendering will evolve and become integrated into user interfaces, discovery interfaces along with AI assistants, and will heavily define learning and entertainment.”

Gabor Melli , senior director of engineering for AI and machine learning for Sony PlayStation, responded, “By 2070, most people will willingly spend most of their lives in an augmented virtual reality. The internet and digital life will be extraordinary and partially extraplanetary. Innovations that will dramatically amplify this trajectory are unsupervised machine learning, fusion power and the wildcard of quantum computing.”

Valarie Bell , a computational social scientist at the University of North Texas, commented, “While the gadgets and tools we may have in the future may result in more conveniences, like when ovens turned into microwaves, we find with technology that we trade quality and uniqueness for convenience and uniformity. What tastes better and provides a better experience? The homemade chocolate cake Grandma made from scratch with attention to great ingredients and to baking the cake until it’s perfectly moist OR the microwaved chocolate-cake-for-one? The microwave cake takes less than 10 minutes and you simply add water, but Grandma’s cake is not over-processed, and you taste the real butter, real vanilla, real chocolate instead of powdered butter flavoring and powdered chocolate substitute. Technology will bring us things faster, perhaps even cheaper, but not necessarily better.”

Michel Grossetti , a sociologist expert in systems and director of research at CNRS, the French national science research center, wrote, “The boundaries between private life and work or public life will continue to blur.”

Social connections, community and collaboration will be improved

Some experts expect that digital advances will lead to better communication among disparate groups, resulting in stronger interpersonal relationships and positive community development. A number of respondents said that physical barriers to communication and community building will mostly disappear over the next half century. They are hopeful that greater connectivity will lead to better collaboration in response to major world problems, more equitable distributions of wealth and power and easier access to information and resources.

Tomas Ohlin , longtime professor at Linköping and Stockholm universities in Sweden, predicted, “AI will exist everywhere. The internet will, after a few decades, be replaced by a more value-added surface on top of our present system. Its governing will be truly decentralized, with participation from many. Cultural differences will exist on this surface, with borders that will differ from the present. However, there will not be as many borders as today; this new information society is a society with flexible borders. Human beings are friendly, and the world we create reflects this. Communication and contact between everybody is a fundamental and positive resource that will lead to fewer conflicts.”

Bryan Alexander , futurist and president of Bryan Anderson Consulting, responded, “I’m convinced we’ll see individuals learn how to use technologies more effectively, and that collectively we’ll learn how to reduce harm.”

Charles Zheng , a researcher into machine learning and AI with the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, commented, “Life will not qualitatively change much for people in the middle and upper classes of society. The biggest impact will be to the lower classes, and will mostly be positive. The increase in information gathering in all levels of society will also improve the efficiency of social welfare programs. Access to information becomes democratized as cities start offering free, basic Wi-Fi and the government hosts AI educational programs which can teach young people how to find jobs and access public resources. The increase in networking also makes … social nonprofits more effective at helping the disadvantaged. Government accountability is also improved now that people at all levels of society can leave reviews about government services online.”

Craig Mathias , principal at Farpoint Group, an advisory firm specializing in wireless networking and mobile computing, commented, “Civilization itself centers on and thus depends upon communication of all forms. The more we communicate, the better the opportunities for peace and prosperity on a global basis. It would be difficult to imagine communications without the internet, now and especially in the future.”

Gene Crick , director of the Metropolitan Austin Interactive Network and longtime U.S. community telecommunications expert, wrote, “Genuine universal technology access has become a vital issue for every community. AI/IT can make powerful tools, resources and opportunities available to anyone interested. To help rhetoric become reality, we could adopt and insist on a few fundamental principles, including standards for openness and accountability. How? Just a notion but perhaps a modernized version of the National Science Foundation internet administration transfer two decades ago.  Though the outcome was far from pretty, those who participated felt we got the job done. Today’s improved communications tools could make possible a much simpler, more widespread ‘grassroots’ discussion and decision process.”

Jean-Daniel Fekete , researcher in information visualization, visual analytics and human-computer interaction at INRIA, France, said, “The connected world will become even more integrated in our life and appliances, as a virtual extension of our physical world. Physical location [will] become less important, blurring the notion of workplace, home, vacation, traveling. In that world, humans will have easy access to mostly all intellectual resources, but companies will be fighting for human attention. Advertising is already too efficient, diverting attention already. Mitigating these threats will become essential to maintain a healthy humanity.”

Liz Rykert , president at Meta Strategies, a consultancy that works with technology and complex organizational change, responded, “We will see more and more integration of tools that support accountability. An early example of this is the use of body cams by police. The internet will let us both monitor and share data and images about what is happening, whether it is a devastating impact of climate change or an eventful incident of racism. Continued access to tools of accountability and access to knowledge and collaborative opportunities will support people to be both bold and collaborative as they seek new solutions. The internet will be the base to support these efforts as well as the platform that will continue to serve as the means for how we will work together to respond to problems either urgent (like a flood or fire) or longer-term like solving problems like affordable housing.”

Matt Belge , founder and president of Vision & Logic, said, “Humanity has always strived to be connected to other humans, and writing, publishing, art and education were all efforts to serve this desire. This desire is so deeply seated, this desire for connection, that it will drive everything we do. Privacy will become less of a concern and transparency will become more of the norm in the next 50 years. Therefore, I expect technology to enable deeper and more personal connections with fewer secrets and greater openness. Specifically, AI will help people with like interests work together, form deeper relationships and collaborate on advancing our entire species. I believe humans are always striving for more and more connection with other humans and technology is evolving in ways to facilitated this.”

Sam Ladner , a former UX researcher for Amazon and Microsoft, now an adjunct professor at Ontario College of Art & Design, wrote, “We will continue to see a melding of digital and analog ‘selves,’ in which humans will now consider their digital experiences less and less divorced from their face-to-face experiences. Face-to-face social connections will become ever more precious, and ever more elusive. Having an ‘in real life’ relationship will be a commodity to be exploited and a challenge to keep. Physical experiences will increasingly be infused with digital ‘backchannel’ experiences, such as an ongoing digital conversation either in text, images or VR, while the physical event carries on. Likewise, IRL (in real-life) events will become even more exclusive, expensive and a source of cultural capital. Isolated people will fail to see their isolation before it reaches a desperate point, because collectively, we will fail to see physical connections as a key ingredient to ward off loneliness. Loneliness will take on a new meaning; digital friends will assist some isolated people, but loneliness will focus more on lack of human touch, and face-to-face eye contact. New medical disorders will emerge, based on this social withdrawal, and given the aging demographic, a public policy crisis will overwhelm nation-states’ budgets and capabilities. Lonely, aging, physically infirm people may find relief in online forums of all sorts, but we will be surprised to learn what a total absence of IRL interaction will yield.”

Peggy Lahammer , director of health/life sciences at Robins Kaplan LLP and legal market analyst, commented, “Historically access to natural resources, with limited intelligence on how to best use those resources, provided the means to survive and prosper. As we continue to become more specialized in our expertise and less skilled in many tasks required to survive, we are more dependent on others with specialized talents. I believe the internet and a connected world have fueled this transformation and will continue to do so in the next 50 years. The internet will continue to connect people around the globe and cause instability in areas where people have limited resources, information or specialized skills necessary to thrive.”

Bert Huang , an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech focused on machine learning, wrote, “I believe the internet can meet the promise of helping people connect to all of humanity. The main concern I see with the internet is that it plays counter to human intuitions about scale. When humans see thousands of like-minded individuals on the internet, it is too easy to believe that those thousands of people represent all of humanity. One promise of the internet is that it would allow people to interact with, and learn from, individuals with widely different backgrounds, unifying the human species in way that was previously impossible. Unfortunately, the more recent effect has apparently been that people are further entrenched in their own narrow views because they are surrounded on the internet with inconceivably large numbers of people sharing their own views. These large numbers make it difficult for people to fathom that other valid views exist. I believe technology can and will help alleviate this problem.”

A technical information science professional commented, “The daily living ‘operations’ will change drastically from today – how we work, how we take care of family, how we ‘commute’ from place to place, how we entertain and so on. However, the fundamental of living, creating and maintaining meaningful relationships with others will be more dominant focus of our lives, and those concerns and efforts will not change.”

Several of the expert respondents who said they believe humanity will be better off in the future thanks to digital life said that in 50 years individuals will have greater autonomy and more control over their personal data.

Eileen Donahoe , executive director of the Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University, commented, “I envision a dramatic change in terms of how we think about people’s ownership and control of their own data. People’s data will be seen as a valuable commodity and platforms will arise to facilitate data sovereignty for individuals. If we move toward development and deployment of platforms and systems that allow individuals autonomy to choose when and where they exchange their data for goods and services, this will constitute an important positive step toward wider distribution of the benefits of a data-driven society.”

Greg Lloyd , president and co-founder at Traction Software, responded, “The next 50 years will see performance of hardware, storage and bandwidth increase and cost decrease at a rate no less than the past 50 years. This means that the resources available to any person – at the cost of a current smartphone and network subscription – will be close to the resources supporting a Google regional center. This will turn the advertising supported and privacy invasive economic model of the current internet on its head, making it possible for anyone to afford dedicated, private and secure resources to support a Prospero and Ariel-like world of certified and secure services. That people agreed to grant access to their most private resources and actions to platform companies in order to support use of subsidized internet services will become as oddly amusing as the fact that people once earned their living as flagpole sitters. Your smartphone and its personal AI services will be exactly that: your property, which you pay for and use with confidence. When you use certified agents or services, you’ll have choices ranging from free (routine commerce, public library or government services) to fabulously expensive (the best legal minds, most famous pop stars, bespoke design and manufacturing of any artifacts, membership in the most exclusive ‘places’). In all cases your personal smartphone (or whatever it turns into) will help you negotiate enforceable contracts for these services, monitor performance and provide evidence any case of dispute. Think Apple with a smart lawyer, accountant, friend and adviser in your smartphone, not Facebook becoming Silicon Valley’s version of Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil.’”

James Scofield O’Rourke , a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame specializing in reputation management, commented, “I foresee two large applications of digital connections such as the internet over the next half century. First, I see access to information, processes and expertise that would either be delayed or inaccessible today. Second, I see a much larger degree of autonomy for the individual. This could mean everything from driverless trucks, automobiles and other vehicles to individual control over our immediate environment, our assets and possessions, and our ability to choose. In exchange, of course, the notion of privacy will virtually disappear.”

R “Ray” Wang , founder and principal analyst at Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research, said, “The new internet can also be a place where we decentralize human rights, enabling an individual to protect their data privacy and stay free. Keep in mind privacy is not dead. It’s up to us as a society to enforce these human rights.”

Susan Aaronson , a research professor of international affairs and cross-disciplinary fellow at George Washington University, responded, “I admit to being a techno optimist. I believe that true entrepreneurs ‘see’ areas/functions that need improvements and will utilize technologies in ways that make it easier for, as an example, the blind to see.”

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The future of digital spaces and their role in democracy, experts say the ‘new normal’ in 2025 will be far more tech-driven, presenting more big challenges, shareable quotes from experts about the next 50 years of digital life, experts optimistic about the next 50 years of digital life, the future of technology, most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Internet Security Essay

Many people today are familiar with the Internet and its use. A large number of its users however, are not aware of the security problems they face when using the Internet. Most users feel they are anonymous when on-line, yet in actuality they are not. There are some very easy ways to protect the user from future problems. The Internet has brought many advantages to its users but has also created some major problems. Most people believe that they are anonymous when they are using the Internet. Because of this thinking, they are not careful with what they do and where they go when on the “net.

Security is a major issue with the Internet because the general public now has access to it. When only the government and higher education had access, there was no worry about credit card numbers and other types of important data being taken. There are many advantages the Internet brings to its users, but there are also many problems with the Internet security, especially when dealing with personal security, business security, and the government involvement to protect the users. The Internet is a new, barely regulated frontier, and there are many reasons to be concerned with security.

The same features that make the Internet so appealing such as interactivity, versatile communication, and customizability also make it an ideal way for someone to keep a careful watch on the user without them being aware of it (Lemmons 1). It may not seem like it but it is completely possible to build a personal profile on someone just by tracking them in cyperspace. Every action a person does while logged onto the Internet is recorded somewhere (Boyan, Codel, and Parekh 3). An individual’s personal security is the major issue surrounding the Internet.

If a person cannot be secure and have privacy on the Internet, the whole system will fail. According to the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), any website can find out whose server and the location of the server a person used to get on the Internet, whether his computer is Windows or DOS based, and also the Internet browser that was used. This is the only information that can be taken legally. However, it can safely be assumed that in some cases much more data is actually taken (1). These are just a few of the many ways for people to find out the identity of an individual and what they are doing when n the Internet.

One of the most common ways for webmasters to find out information about the user is to use passive recording of transactional information. What this does is record the movements the user had on a website. It can tell where the user came from, how long he stayed, what files he looked at, and where he went when he left. This information is totally legal to obtain, and often the webmaster will use it to see what parts of his site attracts the most attention. By doing this, he can improve his site for the people that return often (Boyan, Codel, and Parekh 2).

There is a much more devious way that someone can gain access to information on a user’s hard-drive. In the past, the user did not need to be concerned about the browser he used; that changed when Netscape Navigator 2. 0 was introduced. Netscape 2. 0 takes advantage of a programming language called Java. Java uses the browser to activate programs to better enhance the website the user was viewing. It is possible for someone to write a program using Java that transfers data from the user’s computer back to the website without the user ever being aware of anything being taken.

Netscape has issued new releases that fix some but not all of the two dozen holes in the program (Methvin 3). Many people do not realize that they often give information to websites by doing something called direct disclosure. Direct disclosure is just that, the user gives the website information such as their e-mail address, real address, phone number, and any other information that is requested. Often, by giving up information, a user will receive special benefits for “registering” such as a better version of some software or being allowed into “member only areas” (Boyan, Codel, and Parekh 2).

E-mail is like a postcard. E-mail is not like mailing a letter in an envelope. Every carrier that touches that e-mail can read it if they choose. Not only can the carriers see the message on the e-mail, but it can also be electronically intercepted and read by hackers. This can all be done without the sender or the receiver ever knowing anything had happened (Pepper 1). E-mail is the most intriguing thing to hackers because it can be full of important data from secret corporate information to credit card numbers (Rothfeder, “Special Reports” 2). The only way to secure e-mail is by encryption.

This makes an envelope that the hacker cannot penetrate. The downside to using encryption on a huge network like the Internet is that both users must have compatible software (Rothfeder, “Special Reports” 2). A way to protect a persons e-mail is to use an autoremailer. This gives the sender a “false” identity which only the autoremailer knows, and makes it very difficult to trace the origin of the e- mail (Boyan, Codel, and Parekh 4). Another but more controversial way of gathering data is by the use of client-side persistent information or “cookie” (Boyan, Codel, and Parekh 2).

Cookies are merely some encoded data that the website sends to the browser when the user leaves the site. This data will be retrieved when the user returns at a later time. Although cookies are stored on the user’s hard-drive, they are actually pretty harmless and can save the user time when visiting a web site (Heim 2). Personal security is an important issue that needs to be dealt with but business security is also a major concern. “An Ernst and Young survey of 1271 companies found that more than half had experienced computer-related break-ins uring the past two years; 17 respondents had losses over $1 million” (“November 1995 Feature”).

In a survey conducted by Computer Security and the FBI, 53 percent of 428 respondents said they were victims of computer viruses; 42 percent also said that unauthorized use of their systems had occurred within the last 12 months (Rothfeder, “November 1996 Feature” 1). While electronic attacks are increasing more rapidly than any other kind, a large number of data break-ins are from the inside. Ray Jarvis, President of Jarvis International Intelligence, says “In information crimes, it’s not usually he janitor who’s the culprit.

It’s more likely to be an angry manager who’s already looking ahead to another job”(Rothfeder, “November 1996 Feature” 3). While electronic espionage is increasing, so is the ability to protect computer systems. “The American Society for Industrial Security estimates that high-tech crimes, including unreported incidents, may be costing U. S. corporations as much as $63 billion a year” (Rothfeder, “November 1996 Featuer” 1). There are many ways for businesses to protect themselves. They can use a variety of techniques such as firewalls and encryption.

Firewalls are one of the most commonly used security devices. They are usually placed at the entrance to a network. The firewalls keep unauthorized users out while admitting authorized users only to the areas of the network to which they should have access. There are two major problems with firewalls, the first, is that they need to be installed at every point the system comes in contact with other networks such as the Internet (Rothfeder, “November 1996 Feature” 5). The second problem is that firewalls use passwords to keep intruders out.

Because of this, the firewall is only as good as the dentification scheme used to log onto a network (Rothfeder, “November 1996 Feature” 2). Passwords, a major key to firewalls, are also the most basic of security measures. The user should avoid easily guessable passwords such as a child’s name, birthdate, or initials. Instead, he should use cryptic phrases and combine the use of small and capitalized letters such as “THE crow flys AT midnight”. Another easy way to avoid problems is to change the password or phrase at least once a month (Rothfeder, “November 1996 Feature” 5).

Just in case an intruder does get through the first layer of security, a ood backup is to have all the data on the system encrypted. Many browsers come with their own encryption schemes, but companies can buy their own stand-alone packages as well. Most encryption packages are based on a public-private key with their own private encryption key to unlock the code for a message and decipher it. Encryption is the single best way to protect data from being read, if stolen, and is rather cost effective (Rothfeder, “November 1996 Feature”5). Businesses need protection but they cannot do it alone.

The Federal government will have to do its part if the Internet is going to give us all the eturns possible. Businesses will not use the Internet if they do not have support from the government. In the United States there is no set of laws that protect a person’s privacy when on the Internet. The closest rules that come to setting a standard of privacy is an assortment of laws beginning with the Constitution and continuing down to local laws. These laws unfortunately, are not geared for the Internet. These laws are there only to protect a person’s informational privacy (Boyan, Codel, and Parekh 3).

Now, because of the booming interest and activity on the Internet in both he personal and the business level, the government has started investigating the Internet and working on ways to protect the users. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Agency have all devoted small units to fighting computer security crimes. After Senate hearings, the Justice Department proposed that a full-time task force be set up to study the vulnerability of the nations informational infrastructure. This would create a rapid-response team for investigating computer crimes.

They also proposed to require all ompanies to report high-tech break-ins to the FBI (Rothfeder, “November 1996 Feature” 4). Security for the Internet is improving, it is just that the usage of the Internet is growing much faster. Security is a key issue for every user of the Internet and should be addressed before a person ever logs on to the “net”. At best, all users should have passwords to protect themselves, any businesses need to put up firewalls at all points of entry. These are low cost security measures which should not be over looked in a possible multi-billion dollar industry.

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Ielts essay # 1263 - the internet brings with it clear advantages, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, we live in a world of technology these days. while the internet brings with it clear advantages, the problems in terms of control and security of information outweigh the advantages of this technology., to what extent do you agree or disagree.

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The Internet’s Advantages and Disadvantages Essay

Introduction, what happened before the internet was invented.

There are a lot of different inventions which, having interfered into human life, have changed the way people live. Starting with the ancient times, people tried to invent something new to make human life easier. Nowadays, innovative technologies have entered the life of people and do not stop surprising.

The resent and the most influential invention in the life of people is the creation of the Internet. The Internet has changed the way people lead their lives in many ways. People began to work, study, communicate and even entertain differently and this is the main contribution the Internet has brought into human life, as the changes which have occurred positively affected the way people live.

Focusing on the aspects under consideration, it should be mentioned that students had to study hard attending libraries, sitting there for hours and writing the reports. In case the mistakes were made, the whole papers had to be rewritten in order to correct them. Moreover, much information had to be noted and then rewritten again as the paraphrases had to be completed.

People had to drive to the places of destination just to share the necessary information. Much time was spent on informing the employees of the possible meeting. Moreover, the accounting took too much knowledge and afford. Considering the entertainment, people had an opportunity to visit cinemas only in big cities.

The information from other countries cost too much therefore, people could just be pleased with the local entertainment which was not too costly for simple people. The communication with relatives and friends who lived in other countries was conducted trough the letters which could be delivered for months. People did not experience any disappointment as they did not know other ways of completing the tasks under consideration.

The Internet has changed the way people work. Nowadays people have much more opportunities in comparison with what they had before. All the accounting operations are completed by the Internet programs and accountants do not have to take the bills to any services, the Internet notifications deal with the issue.

Moreover, the Internet allows to pay the bills and to share the salary, online accounting is spread and many companies use the services of online banking. The international business is run on the basis of the information technologies in general and the Internet in particular.

One of the main reasons of the low spread of the international business before the Internet invention was low level of control and interaction between the brunches.

Nowadays, the invention of the Internet allows people monitor the work of the departments abroad, run relationships with the international partners and solve the problems as soon as they appear with the help of the Internet. Most of the business relations are based on the opportunities of fast information share which has become possible with the development of the Internet.

The Internet has changed the way people study. Nowadays, it does not matter where one lives, he/she can study at any part of the planet without leaving the house. The Internet offers such a great opportunity. Distance learning is one of the most spread ways of education nowadays. The Internet connection is obligatory. Students get the curriculum and the tasks they are to complete due to a particular dates.

Moreover, students are offered the list of materials they have to study. The control is conducted over the Internet. Students have to complete the written assignments. Moreover, there are blogs where students discuss the themes with classmates. Moreover, Skype and other video programs allow to communicate with the teacher. Therefore, the Internet allows students study at home and be a student of another country.

Even taking the entrance and final exams is possible from home. Students are offered a particular period of time when the tasks are to be completed. Speaking may be checked using the mobile phones or video connection. Such studying options allow disabled students get higher education and find distant work on the Internet.

The Internet has changed the way people communicate. Previously, before the Internet invention, people had to go to a person to talk to him/her, or to write a letter using the paper and to wait when it is delivered to the person and then wait for the answer. Modern innovative technologies allow people communicate with their relatives and friends from other countries without waiting too long.

There are a lot of different chart programs which help people communicate online in a written form. One person writes a message and gets an answer almost immediately. The Internet gives an opportunity to communicate in a real time. The video connection is much better. Using the Internet and the web camera, people can see and speak to their friends no matter where they are located. The possession of the required equipment and the Internet are the only conditions.

Mobile Internet allows people to communicate cheaper no matter whether they are, thus, the presence of the desktop computer is not obligatory. It seems that people communicate more with the Internet which harms human face-to-face communication. Many scholars blame the Internet and the computers in it. However, this is not true. People just communicate more with those who they could not talk to without the Internet.

The Internet has changed the way people entertain. Previously, to get entertained people had to leave their homes, to go to the theater or to the cinema. The appearance of the Internet has changed much.

Now, people have an opportunity to download any movie from the Internet or to watch a movie online. Moreover, people can have other ways of entertainment, such as reading interesting stories, writing/reading blogs, commenting on interesting topics etc. The communication on the Internet with others is one more way of entertainment.

Playing online games is an innovative way of spending time. People have an opportunity to play with others that increases the attraction. Social network is one more spread entertainment. People from all over the world create the profiles online and share various things. They share music, photos, news, information, etc. Having many friends online, people visit the social net for several minutes but it appears that they have spent several hours there.

Therefore, the Internet has changed the way people work, communicate, study and entertain. There are both advantages and disadvantages of these changes, however, there are more positive features. Having entered the way people live, the Internet has changed the way people study, communicate, work and entertain and there is no way back. People got used to the Internet in such a way that they often cannot imagine how they can live without it.

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IvyPanda. (2023, December 5). The Internet's Advantages and Disadvantages. https://ivypanda.com/essays/internet-2/

"The Internet's Advantages and Disadvantages." IvyPanda , 5 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/internet-2/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'The Internet's Advantages and Disadvantages'. 5 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "The Internet's Advantages and Disadvantages." December 5, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/internet-2/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Internet's Advantages and Disadvantages." December 5, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/internet-2/.

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IvyPanda . "The Internet's Advantages and Disadvantages." December 5, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/internet-2/.

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Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Internet — The Advantages of the Internet

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The Advantages of The Internet

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Published: Jan 30, 2024

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Table of contents

Introduction, personal benefits, educational benefits, societal benefits, counterargument and refutation.

  • Access to information: The internet offers a wide range of resources that provide individuals with access to a wealth of information. Research materials, academic papers, journals, and educational videos are readily available and can be accessed without leaving the comfort of one's home.
  • Communication opportunities: Instant messaging and video calls have allowed individuals to connect with friends, family, and loved ones worldwide. Social media platforms have also provided new and exciting ways for people to communicate and share with one another.
  • Entertainment and leisure options: Streaming services offer a plethora of movies and TV shows at one's convenience. Online gaming has allowed individuals to play and connect with gamers from all around the world, providing an avenue for socialization and entertainment.
  • E-Learning and online education: The internet has made education available to anyone with a computer and access to the internet. E-learning has provided an avenue for individuals to gain knowledge and skills, irrespective of geographical barriers.
  • Promotes collaborative learning: With online forums and discussion boards, learners can collaborate with others to discuss and share ideas. Virtual classrooms have facilitated group activities and project discussions, providing an avenue for interaction and knowledge sharing.
  • Provides equal educational opportunities: The internet has created opportunities for those living in underprivileged areas to access quality education. It has also provided accessibility for disabled individuals who would otherwise be limited in their access to education.
  • Economic growth and job opportunities: The internet has created numerous business and job opportunities for individuals, especially in the online space and freelancing. The global market reach has been particularly helpful in expanding businesses beyond geographical barriers.
  • Enhanced communication and networking: The internet has facilitated international collaborations and provided an avenue for individuals and organizations to connect. Social media platforms have allowed individuals to create and maintain relationships with others, irrespective of geographical locations.
  • Democratization of information: The internet has provided an avenue for citizen journalism and online activism, promoting awareness and participation in societal issues.
  • Privacy concerns and cybercrime: The internet has made individuals' personal information vulnerable to hacking, which could lead to identity theft and other cybercrimes.
  • Misinformation and fake news: The internet has made it easy for individuals to create and spread misinformation, which could have dire consequences on individuals and society.

References:

  • Anderson, C. (2018). Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet. Toopics. Retrieved from https://toopics.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-internet/.
  • Greenhow, C., Robelia, B., & Hughes, J. E. (2009). Learning, teaching, and scholarship in a digital age : Web 2.0 and classroom research: What path should we take now?. Educational researcher, 38(4), 246-259.
  • Walter, S. G., & Su, F. (2011). E-learning 2.0: Social networking and collaboration in learning and teaching. Journal of educational technology development and exchange, 4(1), 1-14.
  • Yang, D., & Chen, C. C. (2018). Play, knowledge, and learning: Gaming cultures and the learning society. Peter Lang.
  • Taiwo, A. A., & Downe, A. G. (2013). E-learning in Nigeria: bridging the knowledge divide. Journal of education and practice, 4(8), 94-101.
  • Hong, Y. Y., & Chan, K. F. (2019). The role of Internet technology in shaping and facilitating international business growth. Journal of International Business Research and Marketing, 4(4), 60-70.
  • Moorthy, K., Kong, H. J., & Thatcher, M. (2017). Globalization, networked society , and cultural software: The emergence of a new social order. Routledge.
  • Smith, M. A. (2014). Politics, Democracy and the New Media. Routledge.
  • Boyd, D. (2019). Media literacy in the digital age. Routledge.

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advantages of internet security essay

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Essay on Importance of Internet: Samples for Students

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  • Nov 23, 2023

essay on importance of internet

Internet is not just a need or luxury, it has become a household necessity. It was used as a source of entertainment but now it is impossible to work in offices or study without the Internet. When the global pandemic locked everyone in their house, it became an important medium to connect, study and work. Students were able to study without the risk of catching COVID-19 because of the Internet. The importance of the internet is also a common topic in various entrance exams such as SAT , TOEFL , and UPSC . In this blog, you will learn how to write an essay on the importance of the Internet.

This Blog Includes:

Tips to write the perfect essay on internet, sample 1 of essay on the importance of the internet (100 words), sample essay 2 – importance of the internet (150 words), sample essay 3 on use of internet for student (300 words).

Also Read: LNAT Sample Essays

advantages of internet security essay

Now the task of essay writing may not always be easy, hence candidates must always know a few tips to write the perfect essay. Mentioned below are a few tips for writing the correct essay:

  • Prepare a basic outline to make sure there is continuity and relevance and no break in the structure of the essay
  • Follow a given structure. Begin with an introduction then move on to the body which should be detailed and encapsulate the essence of the topic and finally the conclusion for readers to be able to comprehend the essay in a certain manner
  • Students can also try to include solutions in their conclusion to make the essay insightful and lucrative to read.

Also Read: UPSC Essay Topics

The last few years have witnessed heavy reliance on the Internet. This has been because of multiple advantages that it has to offer – for instance, reducing work stress and changing the face of communication most importantly. If we take the current scenario, we cannot ignore how important the Internet is in our everyday lives. It is now indeed a challenging task to visualize a world without the internet. One may define the internet as a large library composed of stuff like – records, pictures, websites, and pieces of information. Another sector in which the internet has an undeniably important role to play is the field of communication. Without access to the internet, the ability to share thoughts and ideas across the globe would have also been just a dream. 

Also Read: IELTS Essay Topics

With the significant progress in technology, the importance of the internet has only multiplied with time. The dependence on the internet has been because of multiple advantages that it has to offer – for instance, reducing work stress and changing the face of communication most importantly. By employing the correct usage of the internet, we can find various information about the world. The internet hosts Wikipedia, which is considered to be one of the largest best-composed reference books kept up by a vast community of volunteer scholars and editors from all over the world. Through the internet, one may get answers to all their curiosity.

In the education sector too, it plays a major role, especially taking into consideration the pandemic. The Internet during the pandemic provided an easy alternative to replace the traditional education system and offers additional resources for studying, students can take their classes in the comforts of their homes. Through the internet, they can also browse for classes – lectures at no extra cost. The presence of the Internet is slowly replacing the use of traditional newspapers. It offers various recreational advantages as well. It can be correctly said that the internet plays a great role in the enhancement of quality of life.

Also Read: TOEFL Sample Essays

One may correctly define the 21st century as the age of science and technology. However, this has been possible not only by the efforts of the current generation but also by the previous generation. The result of one such advancement in the field of science and technology is the Internet. What is the Internet? So the internet can be called a connected group of networks that enable electronic communication. It is considered to be the world’s largest communication connecting millions of users.

The dependence on the internet has been because of multiple advantages that it has to offer – for instance, reducing work stress and changing the face of communication most importantly. Given the current scenario, the Internet has become a massive part of our daily lives, and it is now a challenging task to imagine the world without the Internet. The importance of the Internet in the field of communication definitely cannot be ignored.

Without access to the internet, the ability to share thoughts and ideas across the globe would have been just a dream. Today we can talk to people all over the globe only because of services like email, messenger, etc that are heavily reliant on the internet. Without the internet, it would be hard to imagine how large the world would be. The advent of the internet has made the task of building global friendships very easy.

The youth is mainly attracted by entertainment services. Streaming platforms like Amazon , Netflix, and YouTube have also gained immense popularity among internet users over the past few years. The presence of the Internet is slowly replacing the use of traditional newspapers among people too. 

In addition to these, it has various recreational advantages to offer as well. For instance, people can search for fun videos to watch and play games online with friends and other people all over the globe. Hence, we can say the internet holds immense importance in today’s era. Internet technology has indeed changed the dynamics of how we communicate, respond or entertain ourselves. Its importance in everyday life is never-ending. It can be correctly said that the internet plays a great role in the enhancement of quality of life. In the future too, we will see further changes in technology .

Also Read: SAT to Drop Optional Essays and Subject Tests from the Exam

Related Articles

The internet provides us with facts and data, as well as information and knowledge, to aid in our personal, social, and economic development. The internet has various applications; nevertheless, how we utilize it in our daily lives is determined by our particular needs and ambitions.

Here are five uses of the internet: email; sharing of files; watching movies and listening to songs; research purposes; and education.

The Internet has also altered our interactions with our families, friends, and life partners. Everyone is now connected to everyone else in a more simplified, accessible, and immediate manner; we can conduct part of our personal relationships using our laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

This was all about an essay on importance of Internet. The skill of writing an essay comes in handy when appearing for standardized language tests. Thinking of taking one soon? Leverage Live provides the best online test prep for the same. Register today to know more!

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Nikita Puri

Nikita is a creative writer and editor, who is always ready to learn new skills. She has great knowledge about study abroad universities, researching and writing blogs about them. Being a perfectionist, she has a habit of keeping her tasks complete on time before the OCD hits her. When Nikita is not busy working, you can find her eating while binge-watching The office. Also, she breathes music. She has done her bachelor's from Delhi University and her master's from Jamia Millia Islamia.

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23 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet

The Internet is one of the few technologies that doesn’t have a single inventor. It is a series of processes that evolved over time through the efforts of many people. The United States first started using an early version of this connectivity during the Cold War, using it to keep scientists and researchers collaborating with each other.

Now, much of the developed world is fully connected to the Internet, with home usage rates exceeding 90% in some areas. We use this technology for almost anything, and an entire generation can’t imagine life without it because they’ve been using it for all of their lives. Altogether, about one-third of the population uses this resource regularly.

The Internet really began to take off in 1992 when a group of researchers and students at the University of Illinois developed a usable browser. That was the same year that Congress passed laws allowing for this technology to be used for commercial purposes. Now we stay connected with each other through social networking websites, email, direct messaging, and more.

The advantages and disadvantages of the Internet are numerous and individualized. These are some of the critical ideas to review.

List of the Advantages of the Internet

1. The Internet gives us access to knowledge, information, and learning opportunities. The Internet provides us with an endless supply of information that continuously updates. This resource allows us to access knowledge in ways that were never possible in the past. That means we have more learning opportunities that can help us to grow as individuals, professionals, and families than ever before.

When you use a search engine, such as Google or Bing, you can ask almost any question. Then you can be instantly taken to a webpage with relevant answers and data about your query. We can watch millions of videos on a site like YouTube to learn something new, or even take college classes with this resource.

2. It connects us to other people in ways that weren’t possible in the past. If you wanted to communicate with someone without a landline before the Internet, your only option was to write that personal letter. It could take days, and sometimes even months, to receive mail from someone else. Items could get lost during this process, which means your words might never reach the person you were trying to encourage or inform. Because of the technology that is available on the Internet, you can send an email to anyone in the world with delivery in under 60 seconds.

Other forms of communication are also possible because of the Internet, including VoIP services, chat rooms, and direct messaging so that you can have an instant conversation with anyone else who has a connection.

3. Supportive communities develop online because of the Internet. Online forums are one of the best innovations that the Internet provides us to use. These places are a spot where people who share common interests can connect with one another. They can talk about what they enjoy doing, ask questions or offer advice, and take advantage of learning opportunities from experts in their chosen field.

It isn’t a task-orientated benefit either. Forums exist that provide support for health issues, childhood trauma, and domestic violence so that we can all work together to make the world a better place.

4. The Internet helps us to find where we need to go. The Internet works with GPS technology to help map and direct us to almost every destination in the world today. You can go online to quickly route the best path to follow when finding a business in your area that provides the goods or services you require. The search engines that we use are smart enough to understand where you are, even if you are not at home when making a query.

That means the Internet provides you with the most relevant information for each search based on your needs and geographic location. If you have the need to hire a landscaper, then requesting that service will give you a list of local providers and their websites.

5. We can manage our finances more effectively because of the Internet. Instead of receiving a paper statement in the mail, the Internet allows us to access our bank account information at any time. That means you can view your available balance, transfer money between accounts, or pay your bills electronically. It prevents payments from getting lost when you send them with a postal carrier while offering immediate compensation for those who receive the funding. This benefit allows us to save money on stamps, late fees, and other potential penalties.

6. The Internet allows us to shop for what we need online. Online shopping is another significant advantage to consider when evaluating the pros and cons of the Internet. E-commerce platforms let us find goods and services of interest, giving us the option to purchase them online instead of visiting a physical store. It also provides us with an efficient way to compare prices between manufacturers, companies, or platforms to make sure that we get the best price possible.

Public reviews about companies, products, or services give us a way to be confident when making an online purchase. This structure provides us with the advantage of having a better understanding of all of the purchasing decisions we make each day.

7. We can create employment opportunities because of the Internet. The Internet provides us with several ways to find employment. You can decide to be a freelancer and offer services directly to others through a website you own or platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. If you own a business, then a domain allows you to create an e-commerce platform that you can use to buy and sell goods or services. Since the Internet is almost everywhere in the world today, you have more access to potential customers than any local store.

The Internet is always on, even if some websites experience downtime. That means you have the potential to make money at all times because there is always a place in the world experiencing normal business hours. You can advertise what you offer to everyone within the specific demographics you want to reach with very little effort.

8. The Internet provides telecommuting options for employers. Having an Internet connection available makes it possible for people to work from home or to operate a virtual office. Many businesses today allow their workers to use telecommuting as an option if their equipment meets or exceeds required specifications. When employees have an opportunity to avoid a daily commute, then it can help them to save money by avoiding childcare costs while reducing the wear-and-tear on their vehicles.

That means every small business has an opportunity to tap into a global workforce of experts. Even though competition levels are higher than ever because everyone can access the Internet, you also have more scalability options because of the greater access to expertise.

9. Charitable donations are easier to manage because of the Internet. The Internet provides charitable organizations with access to a much wider and more diverse audience. Anyone with a connection can quickly donate to a favorite cause. It is also possible to fund projects or ideas that are interesting or benefit the public in some way with only a couple of clicks. The rise of crowdfunding platforms makes it possible for us to help each other at the same time, with memorial funds and hospital bill campaigns giving us ways to manage the high costs of care – especially in the United States.

The Internet also helps charitable organizations find the online services they need to make their efforts more efficient. These connections can also help them to secure more volunteers to do good things locally.

10. The Internet provides us with plenty of entertainment options. The number of streaming services that are available on the Internet today allows us to have a never-ending amount of content to consume. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, CBS All Access, Crackle, and many others let us watch our favorite shows and movies for a low price.

The Internet also lets us play games on social networking sites, through platforms like Xbox or PlayStation, and on independent websites. We can listen to music while we are working online. We can even stream our favorite songs or sounds around the house with Bluetooth technology. That’s why not having access to this technology can make life feel boring in many ways.

11. Cloud computing and storage expand our abilities to keep data. The Internet connects your computers and enabled devices to cloud services that include computing and storage. That means you have access to more powerful platforms to complete complex tasks while you or your business continues to work on other tasks. The rise of quantum computing technology is expanding the influence of this advantage, making it possible to create entirely new resources because of how fast the calculations occur.

Cloud storage provides us with the opportunity to synchronize data across your devices. That means you have access to your files from almost anywhere. It is easier than ever before to backup information, making your data secure on professionally-maintained servers. If something happens to your home or business equipment, then you can restore your functionality almost immediately.

12. The Internet of Things helps us to create a smarter world. The Internet makes many of our devices become connected and smarter because of their online design. You can connect a thermostat to control the heating and cooling of your home remotely or automatically. Your locks, lights, and outlets can receive the same upgrade. These improvements lead to a world where we are more efficient with our resources, helping us to save time, energy, and money.

List of the Disadvantages of the Internet

1. What can be used for good can also be used for evil. Anyone who has ever spent some time on the Internet has encountered abusive people. There are trolls, stalkers, and cyberbullying that happens regularly on a variety of platforms. Because it feels like someone can be anonymous when they sit behind a screen or mobile device, the filters that we use when speaking with each other go away. That means a lot of people treat each other unkindly when they are online.

Hidden places on the Internet, such as the deep web, can even make it a place for criminals to conduct business. There isn’t as much of a risk of getting caught, especially when cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin can facilitate transactions.

2. Pornography and violence are prevalent on the Internet. Although not everyone would consider this issue a disadvantage, exposing children to violence or pornographic images before they are mature enough to process them can be detrimental to their development. Teens who watch movies or listen to music that glorify specific behaviors are more likely to pursue them in real-life situations. It is an issue that can lead to drug use, drinking, violence, and risky sexualized behaviors.

Children who have sexual intercourse by the age of 13 are more likely to have multiple sexual partners, engage in risky behaviors frequently, and use drugs or alcohol before sex.

3. It creates an addiction to technological devices. Using the Internet can quickly become addictive for many people. You can find a massive amount of information to review, spend time connecting with friends on social networking sites, or play games while at work. Instead of doing something productive, this technology off and promotes something that is frivolous.

21% of employees in the United States say that they spend up to five hours each week on the Internet during working hours doing something that isn’t related to their career. Even when a company has policies in place that block personal websites during working hours, employees can use their personal devices to access the information they want.

4. People struggle to disconnect from work because of the Internet. The average employee, even if they are in an entry-level position, will spend between 3 to 7 hours working outside of their usual shift because of the Internet. Managers and executives put in up to 20 extra hours per week. Being available for work at any time of day due to this technology can make it challenging to transition from professional responsibilities to personal ones.

Even if you are not on the clock, a notification that an important work email is in your inbox creates a temptation to check it. That means workers are often being productive without getting paid for their work.

5. The Internet can provide people with your private information. With billions of computers operating around the world, hackers or malicious users can access accounts through the Internet to locate and steal personal information. These connections allow for a quick scan of millions of computers simultaneously to quickly identify vulnerabilities that are open for exploitation. When someone has your identity information, they can use it in unauthorized ways to gain access to new financial resources.

6. Students can use the Internet to cheat. The Internet allows students of any age to cheat on their tests or find ways to get around assignment requirements. One of the fastest-growing areas of e-commerce that you can find online involves professional writers who get paid to produce essays for high schoolers, college students, and even doctoral candidates.

Even if a student tries to be above board with their work, the prevalence of mobile devices today allows for Internet access while seated in a classroom.

7. The Internet exposes all of us to more advertising. The Internet provides businesses with an opportunity to reach a wider audience than television, radio, or traditional print media. It occurs on such a massive scale that many people tune it out because it is present on every website today. Many find that the amount of spam that goes into their junk mail is much more likely to get sent their way than a meaningful message from someone they know.

That means the amount of information that we receive each day is primarily useless. We delete it from our accounts in the same way that we throw away junk mail when it arrives in our mailbox.

8. Going online can adversely impact a person’s focus and patience. When we use the Internet, then this technology gives us an instant gratification effect. We can find what we want, when we want it, at any time of day. When we receive information through this structure, then it rewards our ability to search for data instead of trying to recall it. This process impacts our interactions in general, making you more impatient and less focused on meaningful activities.

The best way to balance this natural disadvantage of the Internet is to spend time away from it. Focus on having productive, real-life activities that include exercise, time with your family, and other fun events.

9. Frequent Internet use can lead to social isolation. The networking websites that billions of people use regularly can lead to issues of social isolation. It can also create feelings of loneliness or begin the process of forming clinical depression. Although the Internet and online gaming facilitate communication with other people, this structure causes individuals to disconnect themselves from their real-life relationships as they make new connections with people they’ve never met online.

10. Using the Internet often requires a sedentary lifestyle. If you spend too much time sitting, then you are at a higher risk of obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle. Most people use the Internet while on a couch or sitting behind a computer. Unless conscious decisions are made to become more physically active, a host of health problems can start to develop over time.

Using a computer also means that your body must go through repetitive movements frequently. A common injury for those who use the Internet often is called carpal tunnel syndrome. It occurs when you move your hand from your keyboard to a mouse repetitively, followed by similar typing actions. Keeping a correct posture, taking breaks, and understanding the ergonomics of computing can help with these issues, but it may not prevent them from happening.

11. You might decide to purchase things that you don’t really need. The Internet does an excellent job of reducing the barriers that people have when connecting to information or other individuals in real-life situations. That also means the entire online world becomes a place where impulsive purchases become a possibility. Many users find themselves buying things without putting much thought into whether or not they need the products or services in question.

Working with e-commerce platforms can become such an addictive process that it can lead to severe debt in some situations. Since a debit or credit card facilitates these transactions, it can be challenging to some trying to avoid places on the Internet where this issue could occur.

What will the Internet be like in 50 years? In 100 years? We may not know what it can do today, but it will be a life-changing experience.

Some experts say that keyboards, screens, and the mouse will disappear entirely as we use voice-activated systems. Artificial intelligence and machine learning may be technologies that manage multiple facets of our lives. The world may very well become a mix of virtual and reality, and it might be challenging at times to decipher between the two.

We might have real-time access to information about everything. There could be more ways to communicate. It might even be possible to connect humans to the Internet of Things.

The Internet has come a long way since it crashed when trying to send the word “Login” on its first attempt at communication. When we look at its full potential, it is clear to see that we still have a long way to go.

Essay on Internet Uses For Students

500 + words internet essay.

The internet is described as a global network of computer systems interconnected and following the internet security protocol. However, have you ever considered why the internet is important? This 500+ Words Essay on internet advantages and disadvantages will help students ace essay writing during exams.

A combination of high-end science and advanced technology, the internet is a viral invention. Here, in an essay on the internet, students can learn about the uses and impact of the internet.

Why the Internet Is Important

The internet has undergone significant development from the time of its birth to the present. Over a period of time, the internet has become more interactive and user-friendly. It has also helped man in day-to-day transactions and interactions. The Internet is widely used for numerous functions such as learning, teaching, research, writing, sharing content or data, e-mails, job hunting, playing games, listening to music, watching videos, exploring and finally surfing the internet. Meanwhile, though it makes life easy for people, the internet also comes with a lot of pros and cons. Find the advantages and disadvantages of the internet from this essay.

Also read: History of Internet

Essay on Advantages of Internet

Read this essay on internet advantages to know the effects of using the internet. Look for the points mentioned below.

  • The internet has helped reduce the usage of paper and paperwork to a large extent by computerising offices, schools, NGOs, industries and much more.
  • Internet helps to provide updated information and news from all over the world
  • Education, business and travel have been thriving with the growth of the Internet
  • The internet is of high educational and entertainment value
  • The internet makes access to public resources, libraries and textbooks much easier
  • The internet makes it easy by reducing the time and energy taken to do work
  • Work has become more efficient, quick and accurate
  • Meetings and conferences are made easier with video calls and other brilliant tools

Apart from all these, as mentioned in the above paragraph on Internet uses, it helps carry out banking activities, exchange information, shop for various goods and more.

Essay on Internet Disadvantages

Despite the use of the internet and its positives, there are also some internet disadvantages. Continuous use of the internet can affect our lifestyle and health. Let us check out the disadvantages of the internet from this paragraph.

  • Over-dependence on the internet can lead to many health problems
  • People tend to spend more of their productive time doing nothing but browsing
  • Even if the internet is now used extensively at work, overuse of the internet could lead to depression
  • Quality time with friends and relatives is primarily reduced due to the use of the internet
  • Cybercrime has also increased as internet security and privacy are compromised

Thus, we have seen the uses of the internet and its impact on students and working professionals. While we know that overuse of the internet should be avoided, we also have to acknowledge that the internet has still not been exploited to its full potential, despite its massive growth. In conclusion, we can state that to make internet use more comfortable and pleasurable, school students should be taught about the pros and cons of using the internet, thus ensuring that they can stand up against cybercrime and ensure safety.

Also Read: Social Media Essay | Essay on Women Empowerment | Essay On Constitution of India

Frequently asked Questions on Internet Essay

What is the internet.

The internet is a global system of interconnected computers and this system uses a standardised Internet Protocol suite for communication and sharing information.

What are the top 5 uses of the Internet?

The Internet is mostly used by people to send emails and to search on any topic. It can be used to download large files. People depend on the internet for electronic news and magazines these days. A lot of people, especially the young generation use it to play interactive games and for entertainment.

What is WiFi?

WiFi is the latest wireless technology used to connect computers, tablets, smartphones and other electronic devices to the internet.

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How Fraudsters Break Into Social Security Accounts and Steal Benefits

Thousands of people receiving Social Security benefits have had their money diverted into criminal accounts. Here’s what to know.

A building in the distance with a shadowed figure walking nearby.

By Tara Siegel Bernard

For the past two decades, Liz Birenbaum’s 88-year-old mother, Marge, has received her Social Security check on the second Wednesday of each month. It’s her sole source of income, which pays for her room at a long-term care center, where she landed last October after having a stroke.

When the deposit didn’t arrive in January, they logged into Marge’s Social Security account , where they found some startling clues: the last four digits of a bank account number that didn’t match her own, at a bank they didn’t recognize.

“Someone had gotten in,” said Ms. Birenbaum, of Chappaqua, N.Y. “Then I hit a panic button.”

It quickly became evident that a fraudster had redirected the $2,452 benefit to an unknown Citibank account. Marge, who lives in Minnesota, had never banked there. (Ms. Birenbaum requested to refer to her mother by her first name only to protect her from future fraud.)

Ms. Birenbaum immediately started making calls to set things right. When she finally connected with a Social Security representative from a local office in a Bloomington, Minn., the rep casually mentioned that this happens “all the time.”

“I was stunned,” Ms. Birenbaum said.

Social Security -related scams, overall, are pervasive — fraudsters pose as employees to try to extract both money and valuable identifying details from people in a variety of evolving schemes . But this particular fraud — where criminals use stolen personal information to break into online Social Security accounts or create new ones, and divert benefits elsewhere — has plagued people for more than a decade .

Once fraudsters gain access to an individual’s online Social Security account, they can change a beneficiary’s address and direct deposit information, or request replacement cards.

Nearly everyone is a potential target. The Social Security Administration sends checks to more than 70 million beneficiaries, including retirees and disabled people, totaling nearly $120 billion every month. An estimated 2,000 beneficiaries had their direct deposits redirected last year, according to anti-fraud officials at the Social Security Administration.

It can be a lucrative fraud, and a devastating benefit to lose. An estimated $33.5 million in benefits — intended for nearly 21,000 beneficiaries — were redirected in a five-year period ending in May 2018, according to the most recent audit from the Office of the Inspector General, an independent group responsible for overseeing investigations and audits at the agency. Another $23.9 million in fraudulent redirects were prevented before they happened over the same time period.

“Fraudsters were able to obtain sufficient information about a true beneficiary to convince the Social Security Administration that they were that beneficiary,” said Jeffrey Brown, a deputy assistant inspector general at the Office of the Inspector General , who analyzed the issue in 2019 . “Once they were in the front door, they were able to change their direct deposits.”

Social Security-related scams spiked during the pandemic, according to O.I.G. officials, when Social Security offices were closed to the public, forcing people to rely on the agency’s online services.

The Federal Trade Commission, which collects self-reported complaints from consumers, said more than 7,600 people reported that their benefits had been diverted from 2019 through the end of 2023, with an uptick in activity last year.

“A lot of consumers are letting us know they found out that their direct deposit was redirected to another account or a fraudulent account,” said Maria Mayo, associate director of the F.T.C.’s division of consumer response and operations. “A lot of times they are saying they got an impostor call and they provided their information, and they believe that is how that information was used to redirect the benefit.”

In another twist, there were roughly 6,100 fraudulent claims last year, or 0.3 percent of all web-initiated retirement claims, that involved criminals who filed for benefits on the earnings records of Americans who had reached retirement age, but had not yet claimed benefits, anti-fraud officials at Social Security said.

Criminals collect the personal identifying information they need in any number of ways, which they later use to break into government accounts or create fraudulent ones. You need a Social Security number to establish an online account with the agency, but you don’t need the entire nine-digits to crack open an existing one.

Amy Nofziger, director of fraud victim support at AARP Fraud Watch Network, recently scanned through her database of cases and came across a handful of victims who had a third-party snag their Social Security number within the past six months. One unsuspecting person gave it to an impostor promising insurance subsidies. Another criminal posed as a representative of the victim’s bank. In yet another case, the fraudster pretended to be calling from a credit bureau to verify the victim’s Social Security number.

Sometimes identity thieves claim they’re calling from a doctor’s office, and in other instances they’re able to compromise a person’s device and collect valuable information, such as passwords or other personal details saved.

When gathering various pieces of a person’s identity, fraudsters may also turn to marketplaces on the dark web, where much personal identifying information — often stolen through security breaches — is for sale.

Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, a research group focused on data governance and protection, said people living in medical or assisted living facilities were also often vulnerable to these crimes. “It is among the ugliest forms of identity theft,” she added.

Just months before Marge’s benefits were redirected, the O.I.G. issued a report that said the administration’s portal, called my Social Security, did not fully comply with federal requirements for identity verification: It said it didn’t go far enough to verify and validate new registrants’ identities, in all cases. And once an account is established through one of two identity verification portals , which is required to access the my Social Security account, the agency does not require users to reverify their identities using strong enough proof (such as presenting a driver’s license along with, say, a selfie).

This wasn’t the first time the independent investigators found deficiencies, which date back to the introduction of the my Social Security portal in 2012. The Office of the Inspector General recommended bolstering its digital identity verification process in 2016, and while the agency has made several improvements, O.I.G. officials said it still wasn’t fully compliant when it released its latest audit in 2023.

The Social Security Administration said it had carried out several of the office’s recommendations since the portal was introduced, including the addition of a fraud analysis team for investigations. The agency has also updated its identity verification process to respond to emerging threats, it said, and plans further updates.

“Our office conducts ongoing analytics of online transactions and we look for anomalous behavior, and if we see new characteristics, we flag those and implement additional controls to stop any behavior that is potentially fraudulent,” said Joe Lopez, assistant deputy commissioner for analytics, review and oversight at Social Security.

“The environment is always developing,” he added, “and we modify our models as needed.”

The Social Security Administration sends notices to beneficiaries through the mail asking them to contact the agency if they didn’t authorize a recent change to their direct deposit information, which has thwarted millions of dollars in benefits from being diverted and lost, O.I.G. officials said. It is also possible to block changes to the accounts.

The issue would have been impossible for someone like Marge to rectify on her own. It was challenging enough for Ms. Birenbaum, a marketing consultant, and her brother, based near their mother in a Minneapolis suburb, who worked together to recover the benefits and secure Marge’s account.

Ms. Birenbaum — who reported the crime to the O.I.G. and the F.B.I. and alerted her state and federal representatives — once spent two and a half hours on hold with the Social Security Administration before connecting with a regional case worker. The rep was able to see that her mother’s direct deposit information had been altered in early December, the month before the benefits vanished.

Ms. Birenbaum’s brother visited their mother’s local Social Security office and became Marge’s “ representative payee ,” which allows him to handle her affairs (Social Security does not accept powers of attorney). They had to find ways to make the correction without bringing Marge to the office, which Ms. Birenbaum said would have been a “herculean task.”

Marge received the missing money on March 1, about a month and a half after they discovered the problem.

“For her, it ended on a happy note,” Ms. Birenbaum said, “but for many, who don’t have advocates pushing every day, cybercriminals win.”

How to Protect Yourself From Social Security Fraud

Consider locking down your accounts. Create a my Social Security account , but then add an e-services block , a feature that prevents anyone, including you, from seeing or changing your personal information online. You will need to contact your local office to remove it.

Another feature, a direct deposit fraud prevention block, stops anyone from enrolling in direct deposit, or changing your address or direct deposit information through your online account or a financial institution. You must contact a local office to make any changes or to remove the block.

Don’t trust, also verify. If your phone’s caller identification says “Social Security Administration,” don’t trust it — the number may be spoofed and the agency only calls beneficiaries in limited situations. Call back the agency through its mainline 1-800-772-1213 or call a local site using its office locator .

Report suspected scams and fraud to the Office of Inspector General’s website or call 1-800-269-0271.

Contact the Federal Trade Commission if you suspect someone has used your personal information, either through its website or calling 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338).

Review the Social Security Administration’s resource page on how to spot scams.

An earlier version of this article misstated the amount of money the Social Security Administration sends to beneficiaries every month. It is nearly $120 billion, not nearly $120 million.

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Tara Siegel Bernard writes about personal finance, from saving for college to paying for retirement and everything in between. More about Tara Siegel Bernard

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Patients struggle to get lifesaving medication after cyberattack on a major health care company

Desperate patients around the country have been forced to choose between paying out of pocket for essential medications or forgoing them entirely as the aftermath of a cyberattack on a major health care company stretches into its third week. 

Change Healthcare, a little-known but critical subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, detected the attack on Feb. 21. Since then, pharmacies, doctors offices and patients say their lives and work have been upended by widespread outages in systems commonly used for medical billing and insurance claims. 

Disruptions to copay assistance and coupon card processing at pharmacies, in particular, have highlighted key vulnerabilities in a system on which people’s lives depend.

Ronda Miller, 54, said she and her husband rely on a discount card to afford his insulin — he has Type 2 diabetes and congestive heart failure. But when she tried to pick up his medication at her pharmacy in Deadwood, South Dakota, on Feb. 22, the card could not be processed. Without it, the medications would cost hundreds of dollars.

“When you are diabetic, whether it’s Type 1 or Type 2, without insulin they’re going to die,” Miller said.

Ronda Miller and her husband John Paul Miller.

Change Healthcare’s technology is involved in transactions throughout the industry — beyond those involving United Healthcare insurance. The company says it completes 15 billion transactions a year, amounting to $1.5 trillion in health claims. On its website, Change said the hack affected 21 parts of its business, including many that providers use to receive payments, get reimbursed by insurers and process patients’ insurance eligibility.

“Anything that requires interaction between health plans, a pharmacy, a facility, an office has been disrupted,” said Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, the president of the American Medical Association. “That has far-reaching implications, whether you’re on routine, standard medications, whether you rely on a rebate program from a pharmaceutical company, whether you’re just trying to get clearance to have routine elective surgery.” 

UnitedHealth Group said in a statement that it took “immediate action to disconnect Change Healthcare’s systems to prevent further impact” and that the services would “remain offline until we are certain we can turn them back on safely.”

The company said Tuesday that a new network connecting pharmacies to benefit managers could come online as soon as Thursday.

Laura Lester, who owns Marion Family Pharmacy in Marion, Virginia, said the biggest effect in her community has been on patients who can’t afford their medications without copay assistance cards.

“We’ve got people walking away from diabetes medicines, antipsychotics, ADHD medications,” she said. 

“We had one woman yesterday who had to pay $1,100 out of pocket because the copay card wasn’t working,” she added. The patient needed the medication for her irritable bowel syndrome, she said.

Even patients who don’t use copay assistance have faced immense challenges. Donna Hamlet, 73, a breast cancer patient at Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, takes a medication called IBRANCE that would cost her around $16,000 a month without insurance. But on Feb. 23, she said, a pharmacy told her it couldn’t process her refill through insurance because of the cyberattack.

Donna Hamlet, a 16-year breast cancer survivor.

Without the drug, Hamlet said, “the cancer would fill up my body, and I guess I would die.”

After four or five days of phone calls, she got her prescription filled via OptumRx, a UnitedHealth Group pharmacy benefit manager. 

Nathan Walcker, the CEO of the Florida institute treating Hamlet, estimates that $350 million worth of the practice’s charges have been affected by billing delays due to the cyberattack.

But Walcker said he worries most about patients who can’t get prior authorizations processed — many insurance companies require them for cancer treatments, which can cost up to $100,000 per course. 

“We have no ability today to even know if we have a prior authorization in hand for a new patient,” he said. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Tuesday encouraged Medicare and Medicaid programs to remove or relax prior authorizations during the outage and to consider giving health care providers advance funding. Hospitals can submit accelerated payment requests, CMS said, and Medicare providers struggling to submit claims can send paper versions and may be eligible for exceptions or extensions.

UnitedHealth Group said that as of Tuesday, around 90% of claims were “flowing uninterrupted,” with pharmacy claims “flowing at near-normal levels,” thanks to temporary fixes or systems’ coming back online.

The company has encouraged health care providers to switch to an Optum system to expedite submitting claims and receiving payments. Meanwhile, the new network connection that the company expects Thursday should address “the majority of the coupon volume” managed by Change Healthcare, it said.

Optum is also offering temporary loans to medical practices, but providers say they’re insufficient.

Dr. Christine Meyer, who owns an internal medicine practice in Exton, Pennsylvania, said her office submits up to $600,000 a month in claims but was offered only a monthly loan of $4,000.

Amid the sudden halt in revenue, Meyer said, the small offer was “an emotional slap in the face.”

Her practice is manually submitting some claims to insurance websites, she said, and her staff printed around 1,000 paper claims and FedExed them to Medicare. 

“The next thing I have to do is start to cut expenses, stop buying supplies and vaccines, then reduce our staff, then reduce our hours and then, God forbid, the unthinkable: just shut our doors,” Meyer said.

Doctors, pharmacists and industry experts say the hack has exposed major vulnerabilities in the health sector, particularly given Change Healthcare’s dominance. 

“How do you have a system where it has this big of a leak and almost two weeks later, you’re leaving the small pharmacy owners to try to figure out a solution?” asked Dr. Mayank Amin, the owner of Skippack Pharmacy in Skippack, Pennsylvania.

Amin said he and his staff have spent hours calling insurance companies to find out patients’ eligibility manually, one at a time. The work has kept him up until 2 a.m every night, he said. He even plans to pick up free samples of a blood-thinner medication from a local doctor’s office to distribute to a patient.

“What do I get out of this? Zero profit but the feeling that you’re able to help somebody who relies on you,” he said.

Ronda Miller said that her pharmacy in South Dakota gave her husband a free box of his diabetes medication for now and that his doctor also provided a sample. But for families like hers, she said, the disruption has meant “playing with people’s lives.”

Change Healthcare said the perpetrator of the cyberattack “represented itself to us as ALPHV/Blackcat.” Alphv was involved in the attack on MGM Resorts last year, costing the company $100 million. It is developed and maintained by a group of Russian-speaking cybercriminals.

In total last year, victims of cybercrime sent a record $1 billion in extortion payments to ransomware criminals, according to Chainalysis , a company that tracks cryptocurrency payments.

UnitedHealthcare didn’t answer questions about whether it paid a ransom. But experts at the cybersecurity company Recorded Future and the cryptocurrency analytics company Tenable pointed to a bitcoin wallet that received a payment of more than $22 million Friday. The companies say the wallet, which was viewed by NBC News, belonged to Alphv. Wired first reported the news.

The sum has since been doled out, mostly in $3.2 million portions that the two companies haven’t been able to trace fully. Alphv’s site on the dark web claims it is no longer operational.

Cybersecurity expert Eric Noonan, the CEO of CyberSheath, said that if UnitedHealth did pay a ransom, “it’s a terrible precedent, because what it now does is say this is a viable market.”

Change Healthcare was “a very attractive target,” Noonan said, because it runs critical infrastructure and the attack has had visible consequences.

Noonan said UnitedHealth needs to address whether patients’ personal information has been compromised. Thus far, the company has said only that its teams are “actively engaged and working to understand the impact.” 

Noonan also called for the federal government to require mandatory minimum cybersecurity for all critical infrastructure sectors, including health care.

“Americans, I think, are somewhat defenseless in this regard, because they’re relying on the companies to implement the right levels of cybersecurity, and that’s largely not happening,” he said.

advantages of internet security essay

Daniella Silva is a reporter for NBC News, focusing on education and how laws, policies and practices affect students and teachers. She also writes about immigration.

advantages of internet security essay

Aria Bendix is the breaking health reporter for NBC News Digital.

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