PRs Week 2

Week 2 Peer Responses

LDR 201 (MLA FORMAT)

Monique: My opinion about using AI is on the fence. I can understand why it’s used, and I can understand why it shouldn’t be used. I think AI can be beneficial for studying or helping you word stuff in a way you normally wouldn’t. Its information at the tip of your fingers that’s fast and somewhat reliable. It reminds us that technology has come a long way from when I was a kid until now. It’s a beautiful dangerous tool.

A reason why its bad is because it doesn’t allow you to think for yourself, yes it gives you information at the tip of your fingers, but it also takes away your power to think freely and let something be your own. When you use AI, it becomes embedded in your system and put into your algorithm on your devices. It takes away your imagination and doesn’t make you think. It can be used to steal your identity and other things. So, I feel like AI should not be allowed to be used to do papers or other things that require us to think for ourselves. 

Citation Page

(https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/education/resource/five-pros-and-cons-of-ai-in-the-education-sector)

Christen: My thoughts on the fact that Adrianna was using AI to complete her schoolwork for nursing would be that this is totally wrong. Nursing is a serious career to get into. Other people’s lives are in her hands. Imagine she has a patient come in, but because she did not learn the information she needed in these classes, she doesn’t really know how to treat this patient and they end up dying. Adrianna not actually learning the material she needed to know puts patients at risk for adverse outcomes. While I believe that cheating is wrong in all situations and the information we obtain in college for classes is important no matter what we are learning, it is especially important for something as serious as nursing. Imagine the tables had turned. If Adrianna had a person who was close to her who was really sick and on the verge of dying. Would she want a nurse she knew cheated her way through college treating them? She absolutely would not. She would want the nurse who has the most knowledge and who is going to take the best care of them. The steps I would take if Adrianna told me this was going on, would be to start by having a serious conversation with her about how her actions could have serious consequences. She could get caught by the school and be expelled, therefore, ruining her career before it ever began. She could get all the way through nursing school, pass her NCLEX, and then have patients she does not know how to treat, because she did not take the time to know the information necessary. There are so many negative outcomes to this situation. If after having a serious conversation with Adrianna she continued this behavior, I would go and speak with the instructor about what she had shared with me. AI can be both positive and negative. The positive is that it gives us quicker access to loads more information. The negative side of this is people like Adrianna who take advantage of it. There are so many ways to get help if she needed it; cheating is never the answer and can do so much more damage than is worth it. 

HSE 410 (APA FORMAT)

Hudson: There are four main categories of attacks that can involve cyber terrorism. The four categories consist of infrastructure attacks, information attacks, technological facilitation, and promotion. Infrastructure attacks are used in a way to destroy or manipulate anything that might have critical functions or might have critical data. Information attacks focus on electronic files or computer systems and work to attack them to demolish or alter what is within those files or systems for their own gain. Technological facilitation uses cyber communication as a way to facilitate terrorism whether it be coordinating plans for a terrorist attack or inciting an attack. And lastly promotion, promotion is used in a way to fundraise or solicit and can even be used as a way to recruit. Understanding these four main categories is very important to have a good understanding of digital threats and the impact that they could have. It is very important to understand the threats coming from each of these categories and be able to find ways to best mitigate and prevent them from becoming even larger threats and eventually attacks. Cyber terrorism is different than other forms of terrorism for many different reasons. One of the main reasons in my opinion is its scope and reach. Cyberterrorism opens an extreme number of new possibilities of attacks and allows terrorists to operate without having any people in person and in the fight. These attacks can come from anywhere in the world and allow one person to create a massive amount of damage. In another way, cyberterrorism has different targets than other forms of terrorism. Cyberterrorism focuses more on the online aspect of things such as digital infrastructure and online databases rather than attacking the actual property and infrastructure and causing physical damage and harm.

Reference:

Taylor, R. W., Fritsch, E. J., Saylor, M. R., & Tafoya, W. L. (2018).  Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism (4th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780134846583

Demond:  This week’s course material various expanded upon the concepts associated with cyberterrorism and cybercrime, outlining a number of tactics utilized when describing the attacks or attempted attacks enacted by a criminal or terrorist groups. The term “information warfare” explained by Taylor et al. (2018) associates six aspects attributed to cyberterrorism and cyber warfare, with each on targeting a specific factor or sector of nation in order to further the assailant’s agenda or cause significant disruption to the key infrastructure and daily functions of a nation’s assets (pg.24). In a short summary of Taylor et al.’s words, each aspect, consisting of psychological, physical, electrical, military, security, or information, details the motives of the attacker, the target in question, and the potential/direct effects of the attack (2018).

            Compared to more physical and direct forms of terrorism, cyberterrorism is much more complex in that it cannot be attributed to the group carrying out the attack, nor can it be easily differentiated between physical and non-physical angles of attack (Taylor et al., 2018). With the use of the term  Information Warfare to narrow down a large list of targets in to six identifiable categories, and the understanding that terrorism is often attributed to the motivations and ideals associated with a particularly violent action in order to achieve political and ideological agendas, the official description of  cyberterrorism acts as somewhat of a combination of rationales attributed to  Terrorism and  Information Warfare. Therefore, in direct reference to Taylor et al.’s explanation, the only differences between  Terrorism and  Cyberterrorism are the angles of approach, with the former explaining the physical use of violence to further an agenda, while the latter focuses on the use of cyber warfare to directly assault computer and information systems, with the intent to cause fear, disruption, or casualties in order to further an agenda (Taylor et al., 2018).

References

Taylor, R. W., Fritsch, E. J., Saylor, M. R., Tafoya, W. L.  (2018-02-13). Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism,  4th Edition. [[VitalSource Bookshelf version]].  Retrieved from vbk://9780134846583

HSE 490 (APA FORMAT)

Spencer:  I believe that cyberterrorism poses a significant and growing threat to the national security of the United States. Considering homeland security, it's important to acknowledge the various potential targets for cyberterrorist attacks. These targets encompass critical infrastructures, each with their own vulnerabilities to physical, cyber, and insider threats. There is a lot of worry about the risk to the country's energy sector, which includes the power grid, oil and gas facilities, and nuclear power plants. Cyberattacks on these assets could stop the production and distribution of energy, which would cause widespread blackouts and problems with services that people depend on. Terrorist groups that want to kill a lot of people and damage a lot of property could also attack these sites physically. Insider threats, like angry workers or freelancers who have access to private systems, are also a big problem for the safety of these important infrastructures. The banking industry, which includes banks, stock exchanges, and financial services companies, is another important target. Cyberterrorists might try to get into these systems and mess up financial deals, steal private information, or even change the markets to make the economy go crazy. 

      Threats from workers or contractors who have access to private systems and information can also come from inside the financial sector and happen to key facilities. Cyberterrorism strikes could also be aimed at transportation facilities like airports, seaports, and rail systems. Getting into these systems could mess up important supply lines, cause travel to be canceled or delayed, and put travelers and staff at risk of getting hurt. Insider dangers, like angry workers who have access to control systems, could also be very dangerous to the safety of these important transportation assets. I also find it concerning that the healthcare sector, including hospitals, medical research facilities, and public health agencies, is a top target for cyberterrorists. Attacks on these systems have the potential to jeopardize sensitive patient data, disrupt the delivery of medical services, and pose a risk to lives. Physical threats, like attacks on medical facilities or supply chains, and insider threats from employees or contractors with access to sensitive systems, add to the risks faced by this crucial sector.

References

Radvanovsky, R. S., & McDougall, A. (2018). Critical Infrastructure (4th ed.). Taylor & Francis. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781351674898

House, W. (2021, May 12). Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/12/executive-order-on-improving-the-nations-cybersecurity/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20faces%20persistent%20and%20