Hyrum Smith

Mrs. Hull
English 2010
September 27, 2016
Cybersecurity Position Proposal
Is the government and big companies trying to control to much of your life? When most
people sign up for an
email, or an online profile
most of the general
population dont really
think twice about their
security or their privacy.
In a lot of terms and
agreement policies that you sign up for give away a lot of your information to the company or
business that you are signing with. Some people such as Maryan Lawlor believe in the what is
called the Big Brother analogy. When they think if the government is in our lives they think it is
more for protection and that its a good thing. They look at the everything they are doing and
look at the government as an older brother that is looking out for the us population. They believe
that the government should be in our private lives for the greater good. They obviously dont
believe that we should let them take our whole private lives, but there are some people that
already believe that the government is already too far into our lives. One of the examples is Jane
LeClair, she asks how much do we really value our privacy and how bad to we want protection.

What really should we allow the government to take hold of. What can we do to prevent
the FBI from taking control of what really is already public vs what is not public in cyber eyes.
With all of this in consideration, how does the government expect to be able to stop terrorist
attacks in investigations? How can we expect them to protect our citizens if they are not allowed
to look into some of the different cyber information? These are some of the questions brought
out by some of our citizens, including Sophia Rosenbaum, Staff writer for the NBC News.
Rosenbuam is someone that at first when they heard that the government is gathering phone
information from Verizon customers. So they are taking information when they feel like they
need it. She has validation from some people that it is for the greater good, it is to keep America
safe from terrorists

The government
says they are trying to
keep America safe from
terrorists. Although
when and where is that
line crossed for our rights
to privacy. We should
not give up cyber privacy
for greater cyber security, because we have the fourth amendment in the bill of rights, and it is
not ethical for someone to come and take your property. We have the right to privacy as
American citizens. That is one of the things our American ancestors fought for so long ago, the
fourth amendment in the bill of rights. The fourth amendment is the right to be free from
unreasonable searches and seizures. Also what is the deference between a hardcopy paper vs a
paper that is on your computer, or that was sent through your phone company. Is it ethical for
someone to come and take the information on that paper in either case? Is there really a
difference between the two cases, other than the fact that one is digital and one is a hard copy?
Where is the line that people shouldnt be able to cross for our digital information?
Lawlor gives some examples of where the line is and what can and what cannot be taken.
The analogy that she brings out is the big brother analogy. This is in short terms basically a way
the government can look out for the citizens of the united states without them looking through
every little thing that we own. One of the greatest challenges the government faces today is
addressing both national security and privacy concerns (Lawlor), how will the government be

able to give us security and still protect us. One of the biggest things that people dont want is
the government to be able to come in and just take over what is ours without reasonable cause.
We dont want them to be able to take whatever they want, that takes away our rights that
are defined in the Constitution. We as citizens have fought and voted for that privacy for us and
our children. A lot of people say that we are more modern and that times have changed and
when we wrote the declaration of independence than we didnt have computers in mind. What is
the difference between your physical property and your virtual property? Just like I dont want
people to come in my house and take my property, I dont want anyone to take my virtual
property. It is the same thing, the only difference is one is virtual and one is physical. Benjamin
franklin once said Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. (LeClair). This meaning that we shouldnt just let the
government tell us they are protecting us by taking our privacy. We need our liberty to live
freely, and that is what we chose to move to America for. To be able to be free from the
government taking what they wanted

We have a right to privacy that is stated in our constitution. It is also defined what the
government should be playing in our lives. Abraham Lincoln once said Government of the
people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. This I believe means that
the government should not be our older brother, but more our watch dog. I believe that they
should look out for us. But they do everything for the people, and that they do everything as the
people wants. I believe that the government shouldnt take our property, or our privacy, but we
should allow them under the right circumstances to be able to act according to how the people
see fit best. I dont think that they have the right to look at our emails unless we allow them to do

that. I do know they have the right to look at anything that is public but that is about the extent
that they should be able to get to unless they get a warrant.

CITATIONS
Sterner, Eric. "The Security vs. Privacy Debate Is Already Over, and Privacy Lost."
Washington Examiner. The Washington Examiner
Http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/s3/wex15/img/wex_eagle_large.png, 10 Mar. 2014. Web.
29 Nov. 2016.
Lawlor, By Maryan. "Privacy vs. Protection: A Delicate Balance." SIGNAL Magazine.
N.p., 01 Nov. 2001. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
LeClair, Jane. "Privacy vs. Protection: Cybersecurity and the Public Good - CertMag."
Certification Magazine. N.p., 29 Sept. 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
ROSENBAUM, SOPHIA. "Privacy vs. Protection: Public Wrestles with What's Most
Important." NBC News. NBC News, 6 June 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Lohrmann, Dan. "Seven Ways to Gain Support for Cyber Programs in

Government." Government Technology. Government Technology, 05 Apr. 2015. Web. 01 Dec.
2016.