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NOVA: Cyberwarfare Abstraction

Cyberwar Threat In the early ages of the internet, not much was known regarding cybersecurity as much as it was a threat back then. While the previous documentary touched upon the dangers of hacking and the usefulness of cryptography, this next documentary, entitled CyberWar Threat, deals with the dangers of cybersecurity at a national and global scale. 

We're living in an era, now, where we have to wonder whether people can cause damage with computer code that, before, they could only cause with a bomb.
– Shane Harris, Author of @War

Thanks to leaked documents courtesy of whistleblower Edward Snowden, we are able to uncover the details behind the National Security Agency (NSA) and much of their offensive tactics in cybersecurity protection. The NSA was otherwise known as the "hacking agency" responsible for the creation of the Stuxnet, but is now changing to the development of weapons. President Truman in 1952 proposed that the NSA should be all ears in eavesdropping on international phones and radios. The NSA's role transformed from a passive listener to an active spy when Gen. Michael Hayden became the the agency's director. It was also at this time that Pres. Bush ordered the NSA to prepare for a "full on war" after 9/11. 

This brought upon the creation of the Cyber Command, known as the first cyber weapon, where hackers can control, screenshot, and turn out one's webcam at will, and use Zero-Day Codes–codes used against user vulnerability unbeknownst to a company or target. Stuxnet used five of the privacy-breaching codes to hack a private company is Hamburg, Germany to search for a certain product's model number. 

While the destruction of Iranian centrifuges may have delayed Iran’s bomb program and forestalled an Israeli attack, the attack has opened a Pandora's Box, and now America's own critical infrastructure is vulnerable to retaliation and attack. With leading defense experts and investigative journalists who have probed the murky realm of criminal and strategic hacking, NOVA examines the chilling new reality of cyberwar in which no nation or individual is safe from attack.

Photo from NOVA PBS Official

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NOVA: Rise of Hackers Abstraction

In the early ages of the internet, not much was known regarding cybersecurity as much as it was a threat back then. In this documentary, Rise of the Hackers, covers the process of cybersecurity specialists Liam O'Murchu (Symantec) and Eric Chien and their experience regarding specific cybersecurity dilemmas that require utilising cryptography.


"The greatest threat today, to the world, is the keyboard"
– Sean McGurk, Rise of the Hackers

Photo from zdnet.com
The documentary begins with the retelling of the events regarding the hacking against Mat Honan (WIRED Magazine). Honan recalls that the attack began on his laptop, and then soon spread to the rest of his devices in an attempt to get a hold of his personal data. Amidst the threat, the hackers were able to contact him via his Twitter account and admitted they were a bunch of teenagers. It was during this exchange that Honan proposed a deal to the youths that if they were to confess their process of hacking, he would not press charges.

The youths complied and said that they were able to hack Hanon via the last three numbers of his credit card. By accessing these, they were able to deduce his Amazon account (which is connected to his credit card), then proceeds to his Apple devices, then within that his Google accounts (such as emails), and then eventually his Twitter account. 

The second story covered by the documentary is regarding the malware Stuxnet. As analysts for the giant cybersecurity firm Symantec, Eric and Liam investigate the viruses that pop up on computers around the world. Most malicious software, or malware, they see is pretty run of the mill. But in July, 2010, they started analyzing a baffling and crafty piece of code that another security company had just posted online: a virus nicknamed Stuxnet.


"This was truly a digital Pandora's Box. Once it was opened, you could not put the lid back on."
– Sean McGurk, regarding Stuxnet in Rise of the Hackers


Left to right: Liam O'Murchu and Eric Chien. Credit to Paul Cooke/@BBC

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Cybersecurity: Summary

Viruses and Malware -- a computer security vulnerability wherein one computer could send another instructions to delete everything on it or take it over, or impersonate another's identity by guessing, cracking, or extracting a password.  
These vulnerabilities will never be rid of, because they are built in the internet's very architecture.

Photo from checkpoint.com




Public-Key Cryptography

  • Begins with a publicly available number
  • Addition of secret numbers, Private number A, to be mixed using;
  • Modular Math, or mathematical operations, with a another number;
  • Private Number B, to create a secret key.

For example, one's email service will use this secret key to transform and scramble your message. It will then transmit your coded message to your recipient, wich will also use this secret key to reverse the transformations and reveal the message you've sent.


Hacking -- "creative" problem-solving that takes advantage of the property of things in unexpected ways. 

Computer Hacking -- "creative" problem-solving that takes advantage of the property of computers and networks in unexpected ways. 

When one hears the word "hacker," it initially gives off a negative connotation, but the role of a hacker is flexible; Hackers can be a range of people, from criminals for theft, government for surveillance workers, to hacktivists for political agendas. Whether they're good or bad depends on why they hack in the first place. 
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Encryption: Essential Questions

1. How is encryption accomplished to safeguard data exchange?

Photo from cdn.pixel.privacy.com
According to us.norton.com, Encryption is the process of converting ordinary text, such as a typed email or message, into an unreadable format called “cipher text.” This helps protect the confidentiality of digital data either stored on computer systems or transmitted through a network like the internet.

When the intended recipient accesses the message, the information is translated back in the form of decryption.

To unlock the message, both the sender and the recipient have to use a “secret” encryption key — a collection of algorithms that scramble and unscramble data back to a readable format.


2. What methods are used to compress data?

There two methods used to compress data, lossy and lossless compression.


3. What is lossy and lossless data compression?

According to ukessays.com, Lossless data compression makes use of data compression algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. This can be contrasted to lossy data compression, which does not allow the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data.


4. What ethical dilemmas are created from access to data?

When one is give access to data, this means we have a plethora of information such as charts, recipes, art, records, music, etc. at our disposal. One major ethical dilemma that may arise from this is the means one of accessing data (and disclosed data), and the manner and usage of such.
Mary Ann Baily from nap.edu outlined positions at both extremes of the policy debate over data access, then made the case for pursuing a middle ground—striking a balance between the right to be left alone and the obligation to cooperate in the pursuit of communal goals.

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Big Data

Here's some back-to-back content, as this post is related to my previous big data one. Here's some more thoughts on Big Data:

How is Big Data related to Computer Science?

 According to www.educba.com, big data falls under data science, which is a subset of computer science. In addition, the interpretation and analysis of big data is closely dependent on the mechanics of computer science, as we definitely need to rely on machines to do nitty-gritty tasks like organization and presentation, while humans will find the conclusions and act upon the results of the big data.
Photo from milo.medium.com


What makes data "big?"

What makes big data "big data" is the fact that it the information of a certain subject is capable of producing mass amounts of data and metadata at an instantaneous rate to the point that its organisation, interpretation and analysis cannot keep up with the continuous influx of information.


What are three things you learned about Big Data from the videos?

1. I've learned that Big Data's definition is far more deeper than the self-explanatory nature of its name.

2. Big Data is most notably known for it's assistance in determining what's trending in nearly all social media sites and platforms, from YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.

3. The effects of big data, if furthered, can greatly alter our lifestyle. As more big data is interpreted and used to cater to a demand, the various aspects of life such as entertainment, education, etc. will greatly improve and come to affect a wider audience.

Photo from cdn.datafloq.com

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Intro to Big Data & the Joy of Stats

Hello! I've heard that this 'big data' will be an important term later in the year, but to think that 'later' would come to be now. times flies. Here are three videos showcasing application Big Data to get a better wrap around the concept. 

1st Video: What is Big Data and How Does it Work?

The video dives straight into application of big data itself rather an than providing a direct, textbook definition. It can be inferred from the examples within the video that big data is the processing of massive myriads of data to used in further catering to the interests of those affected by the information such as users, clients, gamer, etc.



2nd Video: What is Big Data?

This 2-minute video of the same title begins with the statement: As technology advances, items that will collect and transmit data will increase as well, bringing the need for the interpretation and analysis of such. The video then explains that the influx of this miscellaneous information called big data and the how it can be made sense of and serve as relevant to us. The narrator then hints the potential endless purposes big data may come to provide.



3rd Video: The Joy of Stats

The video begins with a personal commentary of Han Rosling himself introducing his large statistic project demonstrating the quality of life of 200 countries through the categories of life expectancy and average wage. While this does not explicitly state anything regarding big data, The video is great example of big data and its capabilities because Rosling managed to analyze a huge mass of data and interest then present it in a meaningful and beneficial manner.



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Post X: Computing and Data

Hi! Seeing concentrations and clusters of data make me dizzy, especially when they're formatted in spreadsheets. I wish analyzing information could be as easy as reading from a picture book. 

But besides causing me nausea, there are definitely a lot of benefits to having data processes and analysis. here are some questions that answer that.

How can computing help process data and information to allow gaining insight?


  • Computers have the ability to perform tasks and organize data in larger quantities and shorter times with little to no error. It goes without saying that such power and speed easily surpasses that of humans. When these time-consuming and arduous processes are covered, people can now focus on the bigger picture and see their data as a whole, creating new insights that enable us to further enhance the quality of information processing and help point out mistakes ever noticed before.

What considerations should be employed in manipulating data?

  • According to ori.hhs.orgWhether statistical or non-statistical methods of analyzes are used, one should be aware of the potential for compromising data integrity. While statistical analysis is typically performed on quantitative data, there are numerous analytic procedures specifically designed for qualitative material including content, thematic, and ethnographic analysis. Regardless of whether one studies quantitative or qualitative phenomena, researchers use a variety of tools to analyze data in order to test hypotheses, discern patterns of behavior, and ultimately answer research questions. Failure to understand or acknowledge data analysis issues presented can compromise data integrity.

How can large datasets allow for finding patterns in order to problem solve and make predictions?

  • Big data analytics examines large amounts of data to uncover hidden patterns, correlations and other insights. With today’s technology, it’s possible to analyze your data and get answers from it almost immediately – an effort that’s slower and less efficient with more traditional business intelligence solutions.
Photo from sas.com