IT for the home user, aims to educate the home user on the fundamentals of
information technology that cover more than just the computer. As described in
Chapter 9 of the book Privacy by Design for the Internet of Things, “scant
attention has been paid by the research community to home network security.” The
adoption of computers at home started when families with school-age children
needing a computer and a printer so their children could complete school work,
print it and turn it in for extra points since it was easier for the teachers
to read, compared to hand-written papers. Later the speed increase in Modem
technology allowed those computers to connect to an internet service provider
using the phone lines that every household already had.
As more computers started
connecting to the internet more services became available and soon the need to
find those services made search engines a necessity. Over time more and more
households became connected, and the temporary modem connections became more
permanent when higher speed internet became widespread, and the race to
increasing internet connection speeds continued to grow. Today with more internet
speed available households are constantly connected to the internet in some
form, thus the need for this blog topic. The need for home users to become
proficient enough to understand how their systems work and how to keep them
secure and running smoothly.
The evolution of
information technology both in hardware miniaturization and the creation of
faster, more capable software, has driven down the prices of personal computers
and laptops making them a commodity item. It is rare to find a household
without at least one computer or laptop, school-age children all have laptops
to do their work, and some schools are even opting for online-only textbooks on
tablets. In the few years since computers became available to the public and
somewhat affordable we are now at the point where everyone in the household has
their own device whether it is a desktop, laptop or a tablet.
All these devices
that require an internet connection have contributed to the development of consumer
wireless technologies; since everyone wants and needs to be connected but not
tied to a network cable, they need the ability to move around the house to
complete other tasks and chores while completing their tasks on the devices.
And the more wireless capabilities available more devices became available that
a few years ago seemed unthinkable. Devices such as wireless surveillance
cameras, remote garage door openers, intelligent thermostats to manage the
climate inside the home, including keyless locks for the outside doors. These devices
require wireless connectivity with an internet connection and an application to
manage them on a smartphone, commonly referred to as IoT (Internet of Things)
devices with vulnerabilities now being exploited, such as the Mirai Botnet (Melo,
2022).
The evolution of
hardware miniaturization and software programs and programming languages have
extended beyond the topic of personal computing devices. Other household components
have benefited; television sets used to require an antenna to watch over-the-air
programs from a handful of broadcasting channels, or a dedicated cable
subscription provided that over-the-air channel and many other cable-only
channels. Modern television sets have a small computer that can directly
connect to the internet, launch a dedicated streaming service application, and
watch the same programs the legacy cable subscription provides at a smaller
cost.
These
technological advancements that have made our lives easier come at a cost that
most home users are unaware of. All these devices and systems with running
programs and software require ongoing care, just like we have to replace the
oil and tires and put gasoline in our cars to keep them running; these systems
require software and firmware updates and security hardening to prevent unauthorized
access from malicious actors. As technology develops, those who wish to use it
for destructive purposes have developed their tactics as well, therefore home
users need to be concerned and aware that the danger is not only coming from an
unauthorized person physically entering their property but from unauthorized
people accessing their systems and their private data and information remotely.
This blog seeks to
educate home users on basic network architecture to improve their
communications at home and optimize their internet bandwidth. How to make the
most out of the devices they have at home and how to keep them secure, so it
becomes difficult and time consuming to try to break in that the malicious
actors decide to give up and move their efforts somewhere else. My hope is that
enough people become educated so that there is no “somewhere else” for malicious
actors to attempt to exploit.
References
McAuley, D. et al. (2022). Privacy by Design for the
Internet of Things: Building accountability and Security. Arxiv.org
Retrieved from: https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2203/2203.14109.pdf
Melo, P. H. A. D. et al. (2022). FamilyGuard: A Security
Architecture for Anomaly Detection in Home Networks.
https://doi.org/10.3390/s22082895
Retrieved from: ebscohost
database
Yee, A. (Oct 2021). How to secure your home Wi-Fi network
and router. PCWorld
Retrieved from: ebscohost
database
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