Research Paper on Cyberinfrastructure: A Comprehensive Overview

Introduction

The term cyberinfrastructure is a common word that has been in use from the invention of the internet. Cyberinfrastructure has various comprehensions that define it; however, for the research paper, it will address the notion with the definition developed by the University of Indiana. The institution identifies cyberinfrastructure as comprising of computer and data storage systems, advanced instruments, imagining environments, and finally, people all connected by software and computer networks (Tan, De, Song, Yang & Das, 2017). The objective of the infrastructure is highly dependent on the industry of utilization. However, it is expected to improve research, productivity, and enable innovation otherwise impossible through conventional means (Tan, De, Song, Yang & Das, 2017). Nevertheless, the objective of the paper is to provide a detailed understanding of the concept. Moreover, a comprehension of how other aspects are adopting to its rapid development.

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Literature Support

Cyberinfrastructure was first coined in the early 1990s, with its usage becoming widespread by the2000s. Its development can be traced straight to the original design of computer science, which later gave rise to the computer grid of the1990s. In the 1995 Supercomputing conference, the audience was given a preview of the potential scientific research opportunities created by cyberinfrastructure (Tan, De, Song, Yang & Das, 2017). Through high-speed networking and the utilization of the internet, it presented the scientists' numerous opportunities to make breakthroughs. The conference further stimulated researchers to make numerous publications on the definition of cyberinfrastructure and the computer grid. Today, science has assimilated with cyberinfrastructure and is increasingly being distributed internationally, promoting collaborations. Other outcomes of science integrating with cyberinfrastructure is the increased shared resources. However, it is noteworthy that its deployment in largescale has resulted in numerous challenges (Carter & Sofio, 2017). Among the main challenges is security, and the notion has directly affected all aspects of cyberinfrastructure development.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a notion that is popular in academic literature. The term like cyberinfrastructure has no standardized definition but revolves security. The lack of a brief and widely accepted understanding of the term demonstrates the impending effects of cybersecurity. The effects are most apparent when addressing technological and scientific progress. It also gave rise to disciplines that directly act in reinforcing and protecting cyberinfrastructure (Carter & Sofio, 2017). Nevertheless, according to Ellis & Mohan (2019), cybersecurity is the use of a collection of tools, policies, security concepts, regulations, risk management strategies and practices utilized to protect the cyber environment and its assets (Ellis & Mohan, 2019). In the technological world, assets can take various forms other than the physical hardware commonly appreciated; assets may also include data and information. The importance of the term is appreciated by people globally as cyberinfrastructure has influenced both the scientific community and society in general (Ellis & Mohan, 2019). The use of technological devices or infrastructure is appreciated by everyone globally. With smartphones, social media platforms, and other government, military, financial, medical, and corporate processes reliant on technology, security is an important aspect.

Security Engineering

As previously mentioned, the development of cyberinfrastructure gave way for the development of multiple disciplines to sustain and protect its development. Among the most critical in cybersecurity is security engineering. It is a specialized field in engineering that mainly emphasizes on the security facets when designing systems. The role is diverse as it involves the development of robust systems, sourcing the possibilities of interferences, natural disasters, and malicious attacks, among others (Stefferud, 2013). In other words, the primary purpose of the position is to support the development and functionality of cyberinfrastructure.

The duties of a security engineer are vast and essential. Their duties mainly revolve around mitigating cyber threats and risks. The outcome is the protection of the company, intellectual property, and consumer information. Moreover, as previously mentioned, cyberinfrastructure is subjective to the industry, and the same notion applies to cybersecurity (Stefferud, 2013). The general public assumes that security engineers are required to be aware of all security-related parts and knowledge. The notion is undoubtedly overwhelming; however, the role is specialized, allowing concentration on specific aspects of security. Among the specialized roles include the gathering of data necessary for supporting or disproving claims of malicious attacks and compromise (Stefferud, 2013). In a standard workday, security engineers can potentially file queries from internal usage as well as unusual characteristics in the system identified by other team members. The primary objective is to investigate abnormalities, further determining the threat level (ICF, 2016). In other words, they determine potential attacks and false-positive outcomes.

Managing the virtual environment is another role assumed by security engineers. It is achieved by researching new procedures, creating new security codes, and at times analysis of detected anomalies. According to ICF international, incidents involving cybersecurity are likely to increase with time due to the appeal of internet-connected systems and the possible lucrative criminal activities (ICF, 2016). The cybersecurity occurrences on the grid are of significant concern; this is considering the vast number of smart devices in use in homes, offices, vehicles, and industries. Security engineers must help in the development of techniques and measures to help curb cybersecurity challenges. The challenges include but not limited to, malicious attacks, and O.T. systems.

Importance of Cybersecurity

It was previously mentioned that the world has assimilated with the cyberinfrastructure as it develops, offering new opportunities to various industries. The result of the integration is a surge in the creation and storage of digital data and information. Today, numerous organizations, both public and private, have stored large quantities of data on devices and transfer them over the network. However, these devices and their central systems have vulnerabilities if exploited, can challenge the condition and objectives of the organization. Data breaches, which are some of the security incidents handled by security engineers, refer to the unauthorized access to information and data. They have the potential to harm organizations and consumers in numerous aspects; the damage from such incidents can affect the social and financial standing of the organization or individual. The loss of intellectual property is particularly expensive, as depending on the industry, the cost of research and development is high. Another aspect of the expense is from legal regulations whereby organizations are required to pay for non-compliance to data protection regulations and laws. Nevertheless, cybersecurity is an essential aspect of cyberinfrastructure. For example, in 2018, data breaches cost the American economy and approximate $650 billion. Such losses are incentives for organizations to implement robust cybersecurity measures.

Cybersecurity has taken up various concepts from cyberinfrastructure, among them is its evolving characteristics. In cyberinfrastructure, while the system necessitates discoveries in various industries, it is also responsible for its development for faster processing, better storing, and faster network transfers, among others. Similarly, cybersecurity has evolved from the known threats of security to evolving attacks that are dependent on the system and security measures in place (Dua & Du, 2011). Various physical and software-based security measures have been developed as a result. Cybersecurity is a critical aspect of the cyberinfrastructure as it protects and aids its development, implementation, and sustenance.

Evolution of Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity attacks in the past two decades have become more sophisticated, taking advantage of the available resources for malicious activities. For example, phishing attacks have become more targeted and less in the widespread approach they are accustomed to practicing. Nonetheless, the prevailing trend noted was that the attacks have become more opportunistic rather than strategic. They anticipate common mistakes of misconfigurations allowing for easy attacks (Hatfield, 2018). In other words, hackers and other cybercriminals are adapting to the changing cyberinfrastructure environment. They are creating new custom tools designed to create or expose workarounds that would both exploit existing vulnerabilities or leverage existing weaknesses (Hatfield, 2018). An example is the reduced number of ransomware exploitations and increased crypto-jacking. It is the use of background processes to mine for cryptocurrency. The effect of such actions is reduced productivity from the hardware costing the organization revenue.

Personal Opinion

When addressing the notion from the aspect of how cyberinfrastructure has affected its development, how society should approach it, and cyber-policies. The condition being the given limited understanding of the ideology, the response would be, it shields a variety of gaps in the relative fields. Currently, the risk of cybercrime is exceptionally high due to increased societal consumption of digital material. Unfortunately, due to humanity's limited understanding of cyberinfrastructure, future occurrences, and development unknown. With numerous technologies such as fax machines, pagers, and others being regarded as past technology, the future of cyberinfrastructure can only be realized with time.

Conclusion

Cyberinfrastructure is the core of the current technological advancement experienced by humanity. The collection and interconnection of the various digital and computational devices have paved the way for innovative discoveries in all industries of application. However, it has also created a new form of criminal activity focused on the exploitation of cyberinfrastructure limitations. The result is the introduction of various disciplines to control the threats; the example exploited is security engineering. The position is critical for the development, protection, and maintenance of cybersecurity parameters. However, they are expected to face numerous challenges in the future as cyberinfrastructure is continuously evolving.

References

Carter, W., & Sofio, D. (2017). Cybersecurity Legislation and Critical Infrastructure Vulnerabilities. Foundations Of Homeland Security, 233-249. doi: 10.1002/9781119289142.ch14

Dua, S., & Du, X. (2011). Data Mining and Machine Learning in Cybersecurity. Boca Raton: Auerbach Publishers, Incorporated.

Ellis, R., & Mohan, V. (2019). Rewired (1st ed.). Somerset: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

Hatfield, J. (2018). Social engineering in cybersecurity: The evolution of a concept. Computers & Security, 73, 102-113. doi: 10.1016/j.cose.2017.10.008

ICF (2016) Electric Grid Security and Resilience. https://www.energy.govStefferud, K. (2014). Systems engineering approaches to address cybersecurity challenges of the electric grid. https://www.electricenergyonline.com