As I was writing checks for a couple of bills, I realized, (not for the 1st time) how old fashioned I am. I’m in the habit of writing checks for my bills since I was old enough to have a checking account. It is a choice I’ve made about not doing any business online. The reason is that I see having all this information online makes you very vulnerable.
Until this year I have not done any banking online for the same reasons. When I went to open a couple of CD’s I didn’t have a choice. The ones I chose only offered them online. How many times have we heard that banks, stores and businesses have been hacked. Identity theft is a huge problem. One of the reasons is because your personal information is out there.
When I would go to the doctor, they wanted your social security number, why? I never supplied it and wasn’t questioned about it either. Now all my doctors are online, in portals. I curse every time I have to think up a new password and God forbid you go to sign in and they say its wrong and you have to start all over, thinking up yet another password!!! Recently I’m seeing a new doctor for my knee. They wanted me to fill out the paperwork online before my visit to save time for when I got therel. Ok, yet another password. I thought I was done and they wanted a picture ID. They wanted you to take a picture and send it. My only picture ID is my drivers license. I’m not going to do it, another item that can easily be stolen. Why do they need a picture ID?
So that is the internet vulnerability. If you think I’m paranoid, I’m not. I don’t harp on it and think about it all the time. It is just common sense to me.
Next for me comes physical vulnerability. I’m not talking about myself, I’m talking about infrastructure. I love to travel backroads and one thing I consistently see are powerlines, everywhere. Now I was raised and lived near Indian Point power plant my whole life, till we came down here. I also grew up with power lines at the end of our property, (1 acre of woods). I was always in the woods playing, picking berries and later riding mini bikes on the powerlines. That’s what we did.
My point is that when I see them I think of someone or something destroying them. It looks to me that it could very easily be done. Why aren’t they underground and not so visible? We’ve had a blackout that had several states out of power. Now what are you going to do. Everything is run on electricity including the internet. How are the companies going to operate, “I’m sorry we’re down and can’t help you.” Every aspect of our lives operate online. What happens if with all our arrogance, someone decides to bomb us.
I look at these countries with no infrastructure because of bombings and think that could happen to us. I think we are too dependent on the internet. When it all does come to an end, we have to pick up and start from scratch all over again.
Now because of the Corona virus there is a huge amount of mail in voting. It has been recommended that it is a safer way to vote. Thanks to Donald Trump, who at every chance he gets, calls it unreliable, a scam, corrupt and that votes for him will be destroyed. I did request an absentee ballot but I have decided to vote in person on November 4. I don’t want there to be any doubt about my vote.
I have long felt that the way we vote is antiquated. I do admit there are problems. Look at Florida, they can’t get it right for years, who’s to say there won’t be a mix up, and the system is vulnerable. Look at Russia and China trying to interfere, again, through the internet. I do not believe its a scam and corrupt or unreliable.
So that is what my full mind thinks of, our vulnerability thanks to the internet.