Essay competition winner at Naval Horizons-2023
Technology has immensely influenced our world, changing how people communicate and live daily. Connectivity is vital, but so too is protection; coffee machines, selfdriving cars, and Alexa are all interconnected; however, ensuring their connection remains secure is of utmost importance for any connected device or system – the Navy being no exception in terms of protecting assets and data while remaining secure is of the utmost importance if cyber threats ever materialize against its
networks. In 2040, the Navy is likely to be more reliant on autonomous systems,automation, and advanced robotics. These advances in technology will allow the Navy to increase its reach and mission areas, making it more effective in combat
situations. The Navy faces potential cybersecurity threats that could inflict damage on naval assets. One of the risks is that an adversary could plant malware on port computer systems and then activate it at a critical moment, crippling resupply
operations. Other potential threats include ransomware attacks and cyber attacks on naval assets. Cybersecurity presents unique opportunities that enhance naval operations – while artificial intelligence/cyber technologies offer unique ways of
improving naval operations that set it apart from its rivals.
Modern warfare places immense value on cybersecurity, so the Navy needs to invest heavily in modern technology, such as Artificial Intelligence in cyberspace, to defend against threats to its systems and networks from cyber attacks. Cyber attacks
present a grave risk to society, so investing in AI helps safeguard classified information and national infrastructure against further intrusion by malicious cybercriminals.
As I watched the videos about Jennifer Cheung – cyber hero; Joccelyn Coleman, starting computer engineering through The SMART Scholarship; and Dr. Waleed Barnawi from the Office of Naval Systems, known as ”Cyber Dude”, cyber became
more intriguing as an area of study. Cybersecurity offers problem-solving challenges while serving our citizens securely and opportunities to discover how mathematical models represent real cyber attack situations or data transmission protocols, which is critical in its protection.
I first encountered the term “hacker,” with negative connotations, when taking computer science classes in middle school. Intrigued by such attention to cybercrimes, I found it at odd that the defenders of cybercrime are not heard but
there is so much talk about the bad actor. This made me look at the field of cybersecurity as an area where we need to level the playing field and have strong hackers who can defend our nation and continually expand knowledge in new
directions and drive progress forward. The key takeaway from all that reading was that Cybersecurity, risk management, AI, Cyber-Readiness — everything must work cohesively for effective navy operations to defend our nation successfully.
I aim to pursue an interdisciplinary Master’s of Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence program, providing in-depth knowledge of cybersecurity methods and AI systems. By building up my technical and analytical abilities necessary for effectively protecting systems against cyber threats and protecting sensitive data from them, I hope to be part of a team fighting them off, either identifying vulnerabilities, developing risk assessment frameworks, or taking preventive steps against them as a Navy cyber engineer and fighting against cyber crime
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