Though it won’t be something most of us would like to hear, staying safe in technology is no longer a matter of being savvy, street-smart and vigilant. The concept of “rugged individualism” is considered one of the foremost tenets of American culture and stems from the countless (and most likely glorified) stories of pioneers and young entrepreneurs fighting what seems like impossible odds to come out on top, merely through tenacity, ingenuity and pluck. What the history books fail to share are the numerous accounts of everyone else barely surviving, or in many cases outright failing. Make no mistake, even experienced technology experts are getting hacked, so the chances of you coming out unscathed in today’s dangerous internet environment are slim to none.
What this means for you
Most likely you are in fact experienced, street-smart and savvy. You might be able to troubleshoot basic technology issues, navigate bizarre support bureaucracies to get a password reset, and even change a tire or check your own oil on that Honda Accord that’s still running like a champ after 100k miles. You know better than to use “Secret1234” as a password, and you’ve even figured out how to block some trackers in your browser from sniffing out your shopping habits. Unfortunately, you’ve learned what would be now considered baseline survival on the internet. Unfortunately, the current state of internet security is thus: at no point can anyone, me or the leagues of hardened technology experts, sit back and say, “There! I’ve learned all I need to stay safe online.” Your internet safety habits are the equivalent of learning how to drive, and like most everyone, we still need a pervasive infrastructure, mechanics and engineers to maintain the elaborate systems that have become essential for us to pursue a modern life. The majority of us aren’t expected to be auto mechanics, or even roughly familiar with how a car even works, and likewise I don’t expect everyone to be a technology expert, BUT you mustn’t take it for granted nor undervalue the true costs of staying safe. The more reliant you become on technology, the more you will have to invest in either training yourself, or take the more practical approach of making sure you have an expert like C2 Technology on speed-dial.
Image by Schäferle from Pixabay
