Completing My Information Technology Blog - for now

This course is designed to prepare students for their degree program path. The Fundamentals of Information Technology & Literacy course covers concepts to enable fluency in information technology (IT), a fluency that the National Research Council (NRC) considers an important component of the lifelong learning process. This course includes a review of basic concepts needed for the program, including topics such as operating systems and computer components; hardware and software; basics of database programming, and system design; and other concepts that encourage critical thinking. (Course Guide, p.1)

My blog accurately represents a course-long project process to break down and to build up a discussion of IT subjects from home and business technology (in the form of research for a budget laptop), to testing pinging and trace routing, to experimentation with unusual programming technique, to organizing a blog. The course, although just a survey, was fast-paced and thorough. 

My chosen tech topic centered on Network Security and the elements surrounding the demand for skill sets, the need to protect systems from damage, keeping information out of the hands of intruders and the incredible career opportunities therein. I’m excited to learn and create more and more content on these subjects. It’s sometimes something we take for granted that our way of life and our lifestyle today were deeply formed for decades. It’s not uncommon for those that remember what life was like 20 years ago now say to ourselves “What did I ever do before the cell phone?”  Looking back just a hundred years, work routines were still largely agrarian-based and now our economy and our lifestyles are information-based. It would not have happened without the aid of consistent progressive innovations of computers, software and the imagination of programming leaders. The need for the constant willingness and thirst for knowledge on this subject is handy for the IT professional in general, but is absolutely critical for those in network security. 

Network Security problems and assaults almost always precede the ways to combat them. The first computer virus caused havoc and afterward, anti-virus software was invented to combat it. Adware and Malware were invented before any software was developed to fight them - and so forth. Thus, there is no incidence question of what come first. It’s always the “chicken.” The best that anti-viral software can discover and develop is something that resembles a chicken.

Beyond just the knowledge of the subject and its handling are software programs is the very real question of whether software alone is enough to establish confidence in network security. Encrypting software and trying to create chokepoints for pings and trace routing may not be enough. There are emerging technologies known as the Internet of Things (or IoT) that have created wildly popular and valuable tools for interconnectivity between devices, but these conveniences have also created potential threats to security. Physical barriers like hardware to reduce threats is an emerging subject of interest. “Many IoT devices can be disassembled for de-compilation, resulting in the theft of sensitive data. To prevent this, physical intrusion detection systems of the IoT should be considered.” (Huang, 2022)

Beyond the IoT, there is now the Internet of Everything (IoE), a term I remember first hearing by then CEO John Chambers when I worked as a contractor at Cisco Systems from 2014-2016. Cisco Systems is a pioneer in the world of Network Security, so I tried my best to understand how connectivity is massively changing. Imagine not just a device that connects to another device wirelessly here and there, but instead a possibility that every device connected via a uniform protocol can communicate with every other device using that protocol. That is mind-blowing. This potential obviously opens up potential connectivity threats. "On one side interoperability opens up systems," said Pilu. "They are no longer single-vendor and tightly controlled, and inevitably this opens them up to vulnerabilities. But on the other hand, interoperable, open systems allow those vulnerabilities to be found and fixed quickly. In principle, it allows communities of practitioners to apply several pairs of eyes to the problem, and even design in security and privacy from the start." The world of manufacturing struggles with the interconnectivity to improve efficiency, but that is not my main interest right now. My interest is financial technologies, or FinTech.

There is apparently an interest in FinTech to use Machine Language for assessing Credit Risk for bank lending. I can see that this as potentially more inclusive technique for both individual borrowers and for commercial entities. At the moment, without this deeper level of knowledge and access to financial records, the estimates on a prospective borrower is a “black box” – something unseen with uncertain information. (Bazarbash, 2022)

It has been my observation that one successful model for software applications in network security is the use of licenses. Microsoft, for example, has a complex system of licensing for home, school and various business types. Furthermore, the use of flexible use license and bundles of productivity abound. While this can seem confusing for the user, it definitely keeps a full-access attack from rampantly invading an enterprise – a sort of asymmetric decentralized defensive position. Part of my job is license management for my company’s clients. I cannot say much more than that.

Security breaches need an intended target. The most attractive targets of cyberattacks are databases – literally a feast of information to consume and exploit. There are few examples larger than those of the United States government.  The Departments of Human Services, Homeland Security,  . Congress has periodic meetings with these agencies to assess the safety and security of these agencies in the interest of public safety through the Committee on Government Affairs. (The Federal Register, 2022)

My main interest in the subject of Fintech involves architecture and management, which is dynamic and requires a constant willingness and ability to learn and change paradigms constantly.  There are so many new subjects that emerge as Moore’s Law is expanded into evolving potential beyond anything we imagined just 10 years ago. Business models are affected by the potential to disrupt conventional business practices and gain unforeseen advantages – such as through coercion or influencers. (Fraser, 2018)  I look forward to expanding my knowledge base, as perhaps replacing that knowledge as new facts emerge.

References

FUNDAMENTALS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & LITERACY Course Guide, UAGC.

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). Computing technology for all. zyBooks.

"Knitting together the internet of everything;  If interoperability between different devices can not be achieved, the new technology's potential will unravel. Nicole Kobie reports." Guardian [London, England] 18 Aug. 2015. Business Insights: Global. Web. 22 May 2022. http://bi.gale.com/global/article/GALE%7CA429709411?u=ashford

Bazarbash, Majid. "FinTech in Financial Inclusion: Machine Learning Applications in Assessing Credit Risk." IMF Working Papers 17 May 2019. Business Insights: Global. Web. 22 May 2022. http://bi.gale.com/global/article/GALE%7CA597715975?u=ashford

The renewal of licenses for network security application softwares for greater noida industrial development authority, G.b. Nagar U.p. (2022). MENA Report, Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/renewal-licenses-network-security-application/docview/2652807645/se-2?accountid=32521

The Federal Register / FIND; Washington,  Vol. 87, Iss. 080, (Apr 26, 2022).

Fraser, L., Michel, R., Paisley-Smith, D., & Whitted, T. (2018). TOP TECH INFLUENCERS. (cover story). Black Enterprise, 49(2), 28–39.