As the title suggests, I just finished watching The Great Hack on Netflix, for the second time. I don’t want this by any means to get political, but it did get me to thinking, and I have to comment.

One thing I think the documentary made abundantly clear, is the power of data and information. We all know it can be a powerful tool, but how many realize just how powerful? Or can comprehend the repercussions of using it? More frightening, how many care? Unless someone is in or looking into digital security, how well known is the knowledge of just how much information can be gathered on any individual with little effort required? What if some effort was put in to it? Following those questions, with said information, how easy is it to manipulate someone with it? To throw in a semi quote from Mr. Robot, everyone has a vulnerability, once found, it can be exploited.

I’ve heard, (and I don’t know how official it is), this age being referred to as the information age. I no longer believe this to be correct. I think we are now moving into another age, one in which the consequences of the information age are felt, both good and bad. To that point, I think we are quickly moving in a direction to where it will no longer be enough to know simply how to use a computer and to know roughly how they work. A knowledge of at least basic security will be required, as well as a knowledge of who and what has your data, and what is being done with it. Really, that would be the new minimum.

Of course, this is a much larger conversation than what I’m writing here, but if nothing else, I think the term ‘boring’ definitely isn’t in our forecast for the future.