IS NOT TECH

Technology can be both hero and villain, depending on how it is being used or abused

The world had only just recovered from the WannaCry ransomeware attack in May this year, only to be hit by another one named Bad Rabbit that spread to a few European countries in July. Since it was relatively on a smaller scale, it didn’t get much attention until it hit a Ukrainian international airport and three Russian media outlets in October. Bad Rabbit literally caused all the airport information systems to stop functioning, causing major chaos for travelers.

These crimes that leverage on technology increase each year, and pose a big challenge for enforcement agencies to nab the culprits who always seem to be one step ahead. We certainly didn’t see all these coming when the Internet came into the picture. In fact, many had wished the technology had come one or two decades earlier, for all the conveniences it brings.

And, only recently, the country experienced one of the largest data breaches when approximately 46.2 million mobile phone numbers with local telecommunications and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) were said to be compromised. These are personal data that can be misused to initiate multiple attacks to users, and can cause very real consequences to privacy such as identity theft.

We can go on with a long list of the negative effects of technology. But, as it has been reiterated, technology isn’t the culprit. Evolution and innovation of technology will continue. It’s up to use to manage and us technology wisely and direct it to a good and positive dire action. The solution is quite obvious as every one of us owns the responsibility to choose how to put technology to good use.

The path we choose determines the good, bad and ugly of technology. “Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master”— Norwegian historian and political scientist, Christian Lous Lange.