Why You Should Care About Computer Security

Technology is becoming an increasingly important aspect of our lives, and as such, topics like computer security have come into discussion, both online and in media. With the increase of awareness, people often question why they should care about securing their companies and systems. Security experts are often met with questioning about the time, effort and cost of security, with statements like:

“I have nothing to hide anyways. None of my data is confidential, so who cares if I get compromised”.

The fact of the matter is in the day to day use of technology, the software and hardware you interact with gathers and stores more information that you are aware of. There is more sensitive information on your system worth protecting than you are likely aware of. In this article, I will show you that even the simplest systems can cause a lot of damage when compromised.

Consider a simple system, that is used for only email and nothing else. Think for a minute about what kind of emails you receive on a day to day basis. If you’re like me, you probably have a large number of emails in your inbox, and don’t know what information is available.

Suppose an attacker was able to gain access to your email, using any number of methods, such as a keylogger or even as simple as guessing the password. The attacker…