Weekly questions to consider when creating your posts. These questions are a jumping off point to asking your own questions, pose new ideas, and provide explanations and examples backed by careful analysis. Apply class concepts, terms, and theories too. Refer to Assignment 12 for additional details.
- What is threat modeling?
- What are some regulations involved with data protection and cybersecurity?
- What is Ransomware, and why are hospitals often targeted?
- What are some methods to protect yourself online?
- What are the three types of artificial intelligence, and what are some examples of each?
- Who is Alan Turing, and what is the Turing test used for?
Threat modeling is a systematic process used to identify, analyze and prioritize potential threats and vulnerabilities in a system, network or software application. This helps to identify areas where security measures need to be implemented and to develop mitigation strategies for potential risks.
Regulations involved with data protection and cybersecurity include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s files and demands payment in exchange for the decryption key. Hospitals are often targeted because they store valuable personal and medical information and may be more likely to pay the ransom to regain access to their data.
Some methods to protect yourself online include using strong and unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, updating software and operating systems regularly, avoiding suspicious links or emails, and using anti-virus software.
The three types of artificial intelligence are narrow AI, general AI, and super AI. Narrow AI is designed to perform specific tasks, such as voice recognition, while general AI is designed to perform a wider range of tasks like human intelligence. Super AI refers to an AI system that is capable of surpassing human intelligence in multiple domains. Examples of narrow AI include Siri and Alexa, while examples of general AI include AlphaGo and Watson.
Alan Turing was a British mathematician and computer scientist who is considered the father of modern computing. The Turing test is a measure of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. It is used to evaluate the capability of a computer program to perform tasks that require human-level intelligence.
Hi, Joshi
I think your insights on the ways to protect yourself online are very unique. These methods are of great help to protect the personal privacy of computer users. If these methods can be applied to the end, then there should be no threat to the security of computer users.
Hi Shivam, thanks for your response! I was wondering your thoughts on the overlap between threat modelling and ransomware. For example, should hospitals take greater precautions against ransomware because they are aware that they have highly sensitive information? You’d think that they would want to spend a lot of time and effort developing strong mitigation strategies, having foreseen this threat. Did you come across anything in your research that might suggest that hospitals are handling threat modelling differently? Let me know!
Hi Julia,
I think that’s a really good point you bring up about the correlation between threat modeling and ransom ware. I believe hospitals often back up their data for numerous reasons–safety against online attackers, backup in case of an errors, etc.–and restoring data when it’s locked by hackers doesn’t seem like the best precaution, more as of a last measure. It is probably hard to build a solid firewall also due to the fact that patient data can be constantly changing, and needs to be accessible to a lot of hospital staff. The more accessible data is, the easier it is to be breached. Especially post-covid, I bet a lot of hospitals don’t have enough funding to invest in looking for a better safety system, but it is definitely something worth considering in the future.
Yes, threat modeling would be helpful for me if I knew before. My social network account was hacked when I used a public Wi-Fi. If I modeled my digital ID security better, that wouldn’t happen.
Hi Shivam, I think that you make some great points on how to protect yourself online and the methods that you described that could be used to prevent threats on computers.
Threat modeling refers to the method of finding potential threats in the system and then establishing countermeasures. In order to establish a secure system, there are three common threat modeling methods: Attacker-centric, Software-centric, and Asset-centric. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) all involve some important regulations for data protection. If these security regulations are not complied with, Offenders could face substantial fines or imprisonment. Ransomware refers to invading the victim’s computer through a Trojan horse virus, and intimidating the victim under the guise of law enforcement agencies. Hospitals are often attacked because they store a lot of valuable personal information of patients in order to save lives. This information will become the weakness of patients and hospitals, making it easy for hackers to submit. Many antivirus software and online security tools can prevent users from accessing some virus-infected websites and protect users’ computer security. The three types of artificial intelligence are artificial narrow intelligence (ANI), artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial superintelligence (ASI), which can only perform some single tasks, such as facial recognition and voice assistants. General artificial intelligence can imitate human thinking mode, for example, some supercomputers have come very close to this goal. Artificial superintelligence refers to AI that surpasses human intelligence, which has not yet been realized and only exists in human fantasy. Alan Turing is the father of computers, during World War II, he developed a machine specially used to decipher German codes, enabling the Allies to decipher a large number of German telegrams. The purpose of the Turing test is to test whether a machine can have the same intelligence as a human being, which was proposed by Turing in 1950.
Hi Jinzhou, thanks for your response! I was curious your thoughts on the relationship between ransomware and the article we read about John Deere and their USB. The way you described a Trojan horse virus seemed to be somewhat similar, but perhaps I am mistaken. Could you better explain that term, please? I am curious to know! I am also curious to know how law enforcement agencies come into play. Are the hackers impersonating law enforcement? My final question is, do you think the laws you mentioned above are taking accurate measures to protect against this threat? Let me know!
Hi Jinzhou,
I found your post very informative because. I didn’t know the names of the three common threat modeling methods till now. I wonder how long the offenders would be imprisoned. also, would they also have to pay a hefty fine? I’m curious even if the ransomware unlocks the hospital data. They could also just sell the stolen information to make more money as well. I find that ransomware people aren’t trusted. As soon as they have your information, it’s over. Thinking of how AI is becoming more advanced each day is scary. The thought that “AI might take over the world” could be a possibility now since there’s new tech doing people’s everyday tasks its got to the point where it’s taking most people’s jobs.
Threat modeling is when the user thinks about who would potentially try to breach data to better protect it. It reminds me of how detectives will try to solve a case by putting themselves in the suspects’ shoes—they try to think like the suspect in order to predict what moves the suspect would make. As technology becomes more and more of an essential part of daily life, data breaches and cyberattacks are quickly jumping the list of the most likely global risk, trumped only by natural disasters and extreme weather events.
Ransome ware is malware that locks a computer to prevent the user from accessing data until a ransom is paid, typically in Bitcoin to prevent tracing. It is extremely effective since the hacker can tailor the hack to make it personalized and harder to crack, almost like creating a custom key to unlock the malware. It is often installed on a computer through tainted website links or clickable downloads. Hospitals are extremely susceptible to ransom ware due to the immediate need for up-to-date and accessible data. They cannot afford to shut down while they try to remove the ransom ware and will often give in to what the hacker wants in order to be able to access data again.
It’s important to back up your data often to prevent it from being lost, whether to a hacker or other. Also, you should never click suspicious links, and definitely do not download software that you don’t fully trust.
Hey Sophia,
I loved the line in your response of, “It reminds me of how detectives will try to solve a case by putting themselves in the suspects’ shoes—they try to think like the suspect in order to predict what moves the suspect would make.”. This is a perfect way to describe what threat modeling. I also like that you brought up Bitcoin in your response about ransomware. That is a form of unregulated currency that is often use in many forms of bad interactions like ransomware and other illegal actions so that way these people can get their money and never get caught.
Threat modeling is a process that helps identify security requirements. It’s a long list of security threats and potential weaknesses, and learn what their goals and methods are. This helps people to create ways to prevent breaches. Ransomware is malicious software that contains viruses that restrict the user from logging into their computer until the user pays the person to unlock their own computer. This is why hospitals are often targeted because, without their patient records, they won’t be able to maintain their hospital and patients. Some methods I use to protect myself are using a two-factor authenticator, VPN, anti-virus software, and Ad blockers that have security features. The three types of artificial intelligence are Narrow (ANI), General (AGI), and, Superintelligence (ASI). Narrow is fixed for one goal, such as if you give a question, it will give you an answer right away. An example would be virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant. Also, in self-driving cars, you give an address, and it’ll take you to that certain location. General (AGI) mimics human intelligence and behavior. It has the ability to learn any problem and solve it. I imagined they were more human-like, doing human activities. Lastly, ASI is where machines become more self-aware and even surpass AGI because of their human-like features, which means not only solving a problem but finding more solutions to a problem. Alex tuning is a mathematician and a computer scientist in 1936 he created an idea for the basis for the first computer and tested AI in 1950. The tuning test helps determine whether or not a computer is capable of thinking and doing things like a human. During the tuning tests, pretty much a person guesses if the question was answered by a human or computer. If the person’s guess is correct, the computer is now considered an AI “because the questioner regards it as just as human as the human respondent.
LINK: https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/Turing-test#:~:text=The%20Turing%20Test%20is%20a,cryptanalyst%2C%20mathematician%20and%20theoretical%20biologist.
We actually use the same methods to protect ourselves from potential viruses. With VPN though I only have it on my work laptop. Is that a method I could also use on my personal laptop? Thanks for sharing.
Threat modeling is a process that identifies threats or potential vulnerabilities in a system. This allows companies to prevent possible hackers in the future from potentially breaching their online system/information.
There are many different forms of regulation involved with data protection and cybersecurity. One example is the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which is a regulation set in place to keep personal data safe for users since it requires companies to have many protective processes in place for handling and storing the personal data. Another example the HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), which is a federal law/regulation that requires a standard of protection to patient health information from being disclosed without the patient knowing.
Ransomware is a form of a virus that breaches a system in some way and locks information away from the users. This lock on the information won’t be taken off until the hacker is paid or given what they want. Often hospital are big targets for this because of the amount of information and how important the information is to them. This data is crucial for keeping all of the patients alive and healthy, and without it there is a chance someone might have serious medical issues. Hackers know that the hospitals need this information so badly that they are more likely to pay for it back, giving them what they want.
When it comes to protecting yourself online, there are so many ways to do so. In my opinion, one of the most important is adding 2FA to your account. 2FA send a code to a phone number or email when someone is trying to log into your account. This code will be gone after a minute and usually will cause you to be locked out of the account if entered wrong. This will save you the most because these codes are almost unguessable and will tell you that someone has your password and allow you to change it and not let anyone else in.
There is three form of AI currently known today as Narrow AI, General AI, and Superintelligence AI. Every form of current AI in the world is all Narrow AI. For AI to be considered General AI, it has to be smarter than the dumbest human on earth. For Superintelligence AI, it has to be smarter than all humans.
Alan Turning was a computer scientist who the basis for the first computer, and he was most commonly known for creating the Turning test. The Turning test is a test that you give to a human and an AI that is used to determine which is which. This test really determines how smart and on what level a AI is compared to a human and its brain.
Hi Justin! I think you did a great explanation of all of the topics listed above. I have 2FA turned on all of my email and social media accounts. I think it is super important to secure and protect any account that you may have. I have an authentication app for all of my passwords for security purposes. I also, make sure I have strong passwords and frequently update my password information to prevent any hacks.
hey Justin,
you explained very well what threat modeling is as well as ransomware. i agree 2fa will save your data and protect you from someone taking your data without your permission. I have a 2fa for all of my apps and i always make sure to have it because you never know what happens!
You did a good job explaining Ransomware. I did not know what ransomware was until learning it in this class. Well, I have seen it recently in the show New Amsterdam on Netflix but did not know it was the appropriate terminology for it. In the show, the Hosptial New Amsterdam systems were attached by this virus because an employee opened an email. The Hospital, unfortunately, had to pay a fee and they gave in to providing the payment because the virus was preventing them from functioning as a hospital and risking patients lives.
Hey Justin,
I enjoyed reading your response. But apart from reading your response, I wanted to discuss how AI really affects the internet. Personally, I have seen that AI is definitely implemented in a majority of internet softwares and actually is used as a test to compare the human brain and its own virtual “brain” in a sense. The idea of artificial intelligence is a scary concept considering humans are relying on a program to determine decisions and factors.
Hi Justin,
Your post is very accurate at explaining the key differences between the three forms of AI. It is still very fascinating to think just how far technology has come to this day.
The three types of artificial intelligence are narrow AI (ANI), general AI (AGI), and superintelligence AI(ASI). Examples of narrow AI are image and facial recognition systems, chatbots, self-driving vehicles, and Siri. General AI is the ability of an intelligent agent to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can. Superintelligence AI is defined as a form of AI capable of surpassing human intelligence by manifesting cognitive skills and developing thinking skills of its own.
Hi Sheree,
You have clearly explain the AI. What kind of AI is the most popular right now, and would AI replace in the future ?
Threat modeling is a way to stay secure online. Questions to ask is:
What do you want to protect?
Who do you want to protect it from?
How likely is it that you will need to protect it?
How bad are the consequences if you fail?
How much trouble are you willing to go through in order to try to prevent those consequences?
A way to protect yourself online is to set up two-factor authentication (2FA). It will require you to take two steps to log in. One step would be your password and the other step would be a text or email with a code to allow you to enter. There are also other ways to protect yourself like antivirus, ad blockers, back-up files, VPN etc.. I actually use VPN on my work laptop because I work from home and am connected to my home internet. The business does this to protect the files on the computer. We have a lot of data on them.
Hey Isel,
These are great examples at how you can protect yourself online. All of my apps on my phone have an 2FA just incase because you really never know what can happen.
Hi Isel,
I enjoyed reading your response and your interpretation on VPN. Being from NY, there is a wide range of scammers there and VPN is typically used as a method of securing a location or information being used to obtain data from the internet. I definitely think that technology has evolved immensely in the recent years especially when it comes to all the concepts and aspects being used to protect user data and files on a persons computer.
Threat modeling is a process for identifying and categorizing potential threats, such as structural vulnerabilities or the absence of appropriate safeguards, and prioritizing countermeasures. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act provisions on customer privacy and security. The HITECH Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. IRS rules regarding information disclosure. Businesses must follow several cyber security laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Noncompliance with these laws may result in significant fines and penalties. Ransomware is a type of malware that infects systems and files, locking them down until a ransom is paid. Critical processes in the healthcare industry are slowed or rendered inoperable when this occurs. Ransomware is widespread because it is effective. Because healthcare organizations rely so heavily on data access — such as patient records — to function, they are a frequent target for ransomware attacks. Even minor delays in access to records can have serious consequences for patients. The Turing Test is a method of determining whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human being in artificial intelligence (AI). The Turing Test is named after Alan Turing, an English computer scientist, cryptanalyst, mathematician, and theoretical biologist who invented it. There are 3 types of artificial intelligence (AI): narrow or weak AI, general or strong AI, and artificial superintelligence.
Ransomware, and why are hospitals often targeted?
Ransomware is a form of malware. Digital criminals take over victim’s personal data and ask for a ransom if the victim wants his data back. Unfortunately, hospitals are popular targets for such activities. Hospitals in their modern day activities need data to perform. When doctors have to visit tenth in not hundreds of patients daily, it becomes impossible to remember patients data. Digitally recording patient data and using it to diagnoses or for prescription drugs is a typical process. However, if hospital workers don’t have access to this data, their hands are bind. And we have to remember that if and individual victim can wait and think about a plan of action, hospital patients don’t have such luxury. Time is crucial in most of these cases. Thus, hospitals usually prefer to pay ransom and don’t risk patients lives.
Unfortunately, solving this problem is hard, it is an ongoing battle since criminals update their digital weapons every time hospitals update their firewall.
Hey Levan, in terms of ransomware and hospitals, I find it insane how easy it is for a hospital to be breached. Since hospital’s rely on on up to date information on their patients, they are prime targets for ransomeware. Even though some hospitals do practice methods to combat ransomware, some cases still end in them having to pay the ransom. In my eyes, how do hospitals not have better security in terms of their technology? Why are they so easily breached even though they carry such vital information? These questions make me wonder how they still easily get breached as they carry such important data.
For individuals, businesses, and governments everywhere, data protection and cyber security are top priorities. Many nations have passed laws and regulations to safeguard personal information and advance cyber security in response to the growing threat of cyberattacks and data breaches. There are numerous laws governing cybersecurity, including the US Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), the EU Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive, and the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA). By creating security standards, facilitating information sharing between companies, and encouraging the adoption of best practices, these laws seek to boost cybersecurity.
Hi Yi-Lun, you did a phenomenal job on explaining why cybersecurity is so important. Both my brother and father work in the cybersecurity industry so I’m constantly hearing about these threats. My big question for this subject however is, can these threats get so big and so advanced to the point where they cannot be defended against. For example, we are constantly hearing about of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a threat to humanity even though AI is a humanly made system. Can these some fears be applied to data breaches and are they at all intertwined?
A major issue today in technology is cybersecurity and protection one’s information. Unfortunately as technology advances, more ways to invade and breach it is discovered. One of these ways is threat modeling. Threat modeling is one of the most important components of staying secure online as it is the process of identifying ways to stay secure on the Internet. Prevalent questions when protecting your information could include: What do you want to protect? Who do you want to protect it from? How likely is it that you need to protect it? How bad are the consequences if you fail? and How much trouble are you willing to go through in order to try to prevent those consequences? By answering these questions, people can figure out solutions to protect them and find a threat model that works. One great method to protect yourself online is Two-Factor Authorization (2FA), which would be an extra step to logging in such as an email or text message after typing in your password on a certain website. Another method gaining popularity today is using a VPN. A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a service that helps users stay private when browsing online. VPNs are great for protecting information when traveling to other networks outside of your home. Alan Turing was a computer scientist and helped crack the code for the Allies during WWII. His creation during WWII influenced the idea of the computer. The Turing Test, named after Turing, is the method of determining whether or not a machine, or AI can demonstrate human intelligence. If AI can engage in conversation with humans without being detected as AI, then it has demonstrated human intelligence.
Hi Aidan! My organization uses a VPN to connect remotely and maintain proper security while on networks outside of our office. They additionally use two factor authentication to add an additional layer of security. Unfortunately, I have had my personal information stolen before, and it is not an easy thing to reverse!
Ransomware is malware that essentially locks a computer to prevent data from being accessed. The only way to gain access to the system again is to pay the ransom. Why are hospitals the perfect target for these attacks? Well the answer is relatively simple. These organizations provide critical care to patients and rely heavily on the data within the systems to track medication dosage, symptoms, surgical information, etc. Without access to this information a patient’s life can be in danger very quickly. Therefore, the hospital is likely to pay the ransom rather than delay in an attempt to get back into the system without it. This delay could result in a much larger payout for the hospital in lawsuits. Furthermore, hospital workers are extremely well trained in patient care, but are not as highly trained as it pertains to security. Therefore, in a rush to gather information or complete a chart, the individual may not notice a security breach. While ransomware is certainly an extreme example, it emphasizes the need to protect yourself online. There are a few ways that you can do this. The first and most obvious way is to create complex passwords that are changed often and not shared with others. This helps to prevent your accounts from being hacked. Within my organization, a security practice we have in place is notifying our IT team of any suspicious emails prior to clicking on them to ensure that they are not putting our computer or database at risk.
As far as I understand, there are three types of artificial intelligence that I have learned about in this course so far. The first type of artificial intelligence is nai or narrow artificial intelligence. Narrow artificial intelligence is an AI that has a limited part of mind. These types of AI are normally used as your everyday siri, alexa or even self driving cars. ANI can also be used as recognition software for devices and vehicles. Another form of AI would be AGI or just artificial general intelligence. This type of artificial intelligence is used for tasks that cannot be solved by humans or just intermediate tasks. AGI actually has the ability to surpass the human mind when it comes to intelligence. And lastly, you have ASI or artificial super intelligence. ASI is an artificial intelligence that is capable of almost everything possible. Human intelligence doesn’t stand a chance when it comes to ASI’s problem-solving, decision making and forecast.
Some of the most common and simple ways of protecting yourself online involve creating strong passwords, checking for updates on a daily basis, getting anti-virus software, and of course, just like what we have when we log in to the TUPortal, two-factor authentication. In class, we discussed the three different types of artificial intelligence: Narrow, General, and Super AI. When an AI completely exceeds human intelligence, we can appropriately refer to this as Super AI. Another Super AI example that comes to my mind is Stockfish. It is the world’s greatest computer chess engine, finding all the best moves on the board and beating the world’s top chess grandmasters. We are all familiar with the voice recognition on our phones. A.k.a, Siri. Siri is a great example of Narrow AI because the task that she is given is voice recognition. General AI has the ability to respond to different environments and adapt its processes. In other words, it has the ability to solve human-level complex problems.
Hello Nicholas,
I am always afraid that my personal information will make its way into bad hands. in the past, I used anti-virus software like Avast but it was not that good. Now, I rely on windows updates to keep my computer clean and it is working better than a third party company. try it.
Hello class,
There are many ways to protect yourself online. in this class, we learned how to use paid password protection programs. In class activity, we learned how that normal passwords can be easily guessed by automated software. we learned to use different characters numbers and letters in our passwords. Another way of protecting our online information and privacy is to use two factor authentication to log in different accounts. I personally use my phone number to receive text messages when I log in. These text messages will contain a confirmation number that I must enter before logging in.
Alan Turing was an English mathematician and later computer scientist. he was born in London. he was a very smart man. He died very young at the age of 41. Unfortunately, back at that time, he was prosecuted for homosexual acts. He developed the Turing test in which a machine is tested if it has the ability to exhibit human intelligent behavior. This test was performed in 1950. Alan wants an answer to his question “Can a machine think?”. That was very early to that technology.
Here is a link to read more information about Alan Turing:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing
Threat modeling is a process that contains the use of several hypothetical scenarios, as well as different system diagrams, as well as testings in order to help secure the data in multiple systems. Threat modeling also assists with risk assessment, and suggesting corrective action. Businesses are responsible for knowing cybersecurity laws, meanwhile many of them relate to data collection practices and the need to notify customers within specific strict timeframe. Ransomeware is a process in which locks your computer in order to prevent you from accessing certain data until you pay a ransom. Hospitals are the perfect mark for this kind of thing because they provide critical care for patients and they also rely on up-to-date information from patients records so ransomeware is used consistently. In order to protect yourself online, you could change your privacy settings, install antivirus tools on your computer, and get a VPN for a more secure connection. The three types of AI include, arrow or weak AI, general or strong AI, and artificial superintelligence. An example is when a machine that have no memory or with limited memory. Alan Turing was a computer scientist during the 1950’s and propsed a Turing test that was used to determine whether or not a computer can think intelligently like humans.
Threat modeling is a process that aims to recognize any weaknesses a system has so that security threats can be mitigated before being exploited. This process is done by assessing what needs protection, identifying and ranking the dangers, and then developing a plan to try and counter such threats. Companies will spend a lot of money on having threat modeling technologies applied to their systems to prevent further issues. For example, T-Mobile was hacked in January of this year, on top of the $350 million they already had to pay for another data breach settled in August 2021. Therefore, companies spend a lot of money on threat modeling to prevent such instances from happening to them. The three types of artificial intelligence are Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI), Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). ANI is for specific tasks, AGI is for a wide range of functions, and ASI is for capabilities that far exceed human intelligence. An example of ANI would be Siri, an AGI example would be a robot that could problem solve, and ASI would be the ability to redesign itself due to its sheer capability.
Threat modeling is the process that identifies potential security threats and weak points within a system. Threat modeling allows for companies have a chance to prevent these threats and keep their system up to date and secure against future attacks. Ransomware is a common security attack. This type of attack locks the user out of the computer and does not allow them to do anything on the system until ‘the ransom is paid.’ This attack is used this way because the person who sends the ransomware is the only person that has the ability to unlock the system. This type of attack is common in hospitals because the hospitals can not restart their systems as it would affect so many patients and in order to take care of their patients and access their data they need to be logged into their system. This making hospitals an easy target because time is of the essences in an a hospital.