Spatial Dimensions to Cyberattacks

Social media and electronic devices make it easier for people to interact across the distance of space with friends and businesses. At the same time, criminals have learned to take advantage of hardware and software for launching attacks against individuals and communities. These cyberattacks successfully compromise individual privacy, penetrate national and corporate security, and disseminate deliberately false information. Through cyberattacks, perpetrators are able to make money, influence decision-making, and alter the outcome of elections.

Countries Least and Most Exposed to Cyberattacks

Distribution of Victims

Most victims of cyberattacks are clustered in a handful of countries. The most adversely affected countries vary depending on the nature of the attack.

Malware, or malicious software, is hostile or intrusive software designed to cause intentional harm. Malware takes control of a victim’s computers in order to steal personal, financial, or business information. Below shows the countries that have had the lowest and highest rates of malware infection.

Distribution of Malware Infection

Victims of Ransomware Attacks By Country

Victims of Espionage By Country

Victims of Web Application Attacks By Country

Country of Origin For Attacks On Apps

Fake News & Alternative Facts

Fake news is a false, often sensational, report disseminated under the guise of an authentic news report. Creators of fake news disseminate information that they know to be untruthful, in order to maliciously spread misinformation and mislead consumers of the content. Elected officials and other political leaders may use the term fake news to describe press coverage unfavorable to them.

The rise of fake news has generated other practices that misuse social media. An alternative fact, or alt fact, is a statement that can be proved to be false. The phrase is attributed to Kellyanne Conway, who as Counselor to President Trump, labeled as “alternative fact” an incorrect statement by Press Secretary Sean Spicer that President Trump’s inauguration attracted a higher attendance than President Obama’s. Trolling is the practice of posting deliberately inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in social media in order to provoke quarrels or otherwise agitate people.

The lesson from fake news and alt-facts: if we are motivated to like or dislike someone or something, we are more likely to accept fake news about that person or object. If information is shared from someone we know and trust, such as a friend on Facebook, we are more likely to believe it and not check its source. In a world with more fake news and alt facts, individuals and communities have a greater burden to verify and fact-check ourselves.

Using Our Personal Data

The billions of people who communicate by social media have accepted a tradeoff: the convenience of free services in exchange for allowing advertisers and other third parties access to demographic and personal information. When companies use our personal data to advertise products we may want to purchase, the tradeoff seems acceptable. But when organizations use information about us to influence how we vote, the tradeoff appears to enable more sinister practices.

Pause & Reflect 4.3.4

What steps do you take to verify the accuracy of reports on social media?