Good Luck

Security experts are facing a progressively uphill battle against hackers and users alike.

The Internet is becoming more pervasive in the lives of the average person, and as cloud computing becomes a more accepted paradigm, the number and severity of potential security holes becomes a greater problem. Internet services offer a greater amount of functionality every day, tempting users to upload increasingly sensitive documents, in turn tempting the online hacking community to work harder to get at the information. As more users upload information, the amount of information a hacker can pilfer increases as well, further enticing a hacker.

The number and values of online assets are increasing because of an ever growing online community. The task to educate concerning Internet security is a huge task, especially with online newcomers emerging every day both young and old. The common mantra is to vary your passwords between sites and to change monthly or semi-monthly. I worked at software company providing solutions for small banks for almost two years. They ran a tight ship, and required a password change every 6 weeks. At first my passwords were clever, imaginative and difficult. However, I remember after about the fifth password switch, I would change as little as possible in an effort to simply remember what the password was. By the eighth or ninth switch I was routinely calling security asking them to reset my password (prompting another level in the memory game). It was frustrating and very anti user-friendly, cultivating a bad relationship between myself and the network personnel.

Unfortunately, the hacker community is always one step ahead. Even if security experts are to evolve their processes, there is no doubt the criminal community will immediately begin their work to exploit the new systems. The Internet allows the international community to personally knock on your door, and since many of these visitors have no other life than to pick at your locks, security experts are more hard-pressed to provide iron-clad solutions. Thus begins a tight-rope walk between usability and security. Only time will tell if a solution will ever be developed that can satisfy both ends of the spectrum.