COMPUTERS ARE IN TROUBLE! BAD GUYS!!!

Uh Oh! Bad Guys and Computers! (By Jerome Skinly, Age 7)

Hi! I’m Jerome and I write for Jape News! My mom says there’s been a LOT of stuff happening with computers and… bad guys. Not like robbers, but people who try to mess up computers! It’s called… cyber-security! It sounds super complicated.

My mom showed me a BIG list. It’s from a place called CISA. It’s like the computer police! They tell people when computers might be in trouble.

Lots of the trouble is with stuff that helps make… things! Like at gas stations! There’s a thing called Dover Fueling Solutions and if bad guys got into that, they could maybe mess up the gas pumps! That would be BAD! And there’s other stuff like Hitachi Energy. That sounds important! It helps make… electricity! So if that got messed up… no TV! And no lights!

There’s also trouble with… machines that help doctors! Like for hearts! And for other stuff! My mom said those machines have computers inside them now, and bad guys could try to mess those up too! That's REALLY scary! They had warnings about stuff from St. Jude and Medtronic and a LOT of other names I can't even say!

It's not just big machines either. There's a thing called Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile Systems... and that one got a warning too! My mom said that's something that can get messed up on phones and tablets.

My mom says all these warnings are important because LOTS of things have computers in them now! Even my LEGO robot! She says the computer police at CISA are trying to tell everyone to be careful and make sure their computers are safe.

It’s like when you have a bike, you need a helmet! It protects your head. Well, these warnings are like helmets for computers! They help protect them from the bad guys!

There's a WHOLE website full of warnings! CISA.gov! My mom says if you work with computers, you should check it out. And everyone should remember to be careful online!

I think I need a snack now. All this computer stuff makes my brain tired!