disscussion reply to the question asked from students minimum words count 75

1: I believe the hackers were able to break into their systems online rather than the pos. It is probably more risky to go into a store and use some type of card or product to hack into the system. Online purchases are extremely risky. I work for a very high end, well known company who has recently launched their ecommerce website. There is practically basic security to protect the consumer information, which I find to be not only frightening for the company but the consumer as well. I would believe my management team and other companies to stay abreast of all of the easily accessible hacking and potential hacking systems and try to safe guard the systems against it. It also may be beneficial to keep specific information in a separate program, if possible. They should also prevent access from most employees as well.

2: What surprises me the most is that the tools hackers need to get into online systems and target e-commerce are available online. If they are so readily available shouldn't there be more regulations and requirements to obtain the software or share it; i suppose easier said than done. As consumers we also have a responsibility to protect our information and assume responsibility when using payment methods that require back end systems to process payments i.e. credit and debit cards. The video talks about how systems are connected witch presents a security issue but businesses use those to collect and process data so taking that away doesn't seem like a good idea. I have seen in TV shows where businesses hire hackers to infiltrate their systems to target weaknesses and address them. This may be one way to take preventative measures. Properly training employees on handling proprietary and sensitive information is also important. My company requires regular trainings on protecting customer information.

3: I think instead of people investing all that time into figuring out how to hack these systems, they should go to school and put their technology Intel to some good use. No, I haven't heard about the device that's used to break in people cars. It's impressive of what some people can do, these people could be wealthy if they would go to school and come up with some tech ideas. I'm pretty sure since they know how to break into the systems, they could be the one to explain to people how to protect their servers and make good legit money, but I guess they don't think like that.

4: I have come across a lot of people from work that have had there identity stolen and the police basically told them good luck and theres nothing much they can do. He lost everything for about 5 years and still hasn't been able to rectify the situation. I do think companies should have a failsafe for things like this that happen not only target but home depot as well and several other companies that probably don't even know it yet. It's hard to catch because a good hacker would leave it in place to collect as much data as possible so by the time he does act on the first card and it gets reported he/she would have hundreds if not thousands more already.

5: You make an excellent statement when you say that, " what we can build we can also destroy". That statement is so true. You may take 5 years building a new system that you think no one can get into, but little do you know someone has been hacking for 10 years and knows about little loop holes that you missed. Prime example: the unsinkable ship, Titanic. We have known for years that this is true. Also, to touch on the smart phone issue, I have said that myself for years! I never get one of the new phones as soon as they come out, and I advise my friends and family members to do the same!