Let me put my perspective in the clear. I am a retired IT Professional. My career started in 1966. I have worked in every area of IT from hardware engineering, to software development, system analysis and lastly in IT management. I have done it all, including working for a major computer manufacturer for 26 of those 44 years. I have worked for and/or with every 3 letter government agency including all the military services of the US and many other nations as well and I have held the highest security clearances.
I don't own a smartphone. My internet PC has NO data of importance on it. I am paranoid and for very good, first hand reasons, not from others bull shit or spoken experiences, only my own. Our personal data is captured and recorded in thousands of databases everyday. It cannot be avoided. All recorded data, no matter the promises made or security guarantees given, will be abused. Data is a weapon and in human history there has never been a weapon built that was not used. The computer represents the greatest threat to personal freedom and privacy that has ever existed. No data on any computer is safe or secure. All data stored on machines you do not control is immediately at risk and must be considered public. At the same time it is impossible to not use computers. Own all your machines DO NOT CONNECT them to the internet ......ever. All data you load to your machines must be through a sneaker net, never an electrical connection and always review all data in a sand box machine before transferring to your system. Your data is your responsibility, you must make it secure, you must do your back-ups and recoveries. Only you can keep it secure and if you have anything private or secret NEVER put in on ANY computer.
Lastly Mr Metalman11, the article you quoted and referenced is exactly what the government and industry wants you to believe, yet the evidence contrary to that in this article and so many others like it, is all around you. Wake up, pay attention to what you see and witness because only that is real.
Steve, yes, there are dangers with anything. But over exaggerating them due to personal biases on frameworks and technologies that are decades old doesn't give you an accurate and fair perspective. I get in my car every day knowing that I could be hit by a drunk driver. Is it safer to stay home and/or walk to work? From avoiding car accidents, certainly. But it doesn't mean it's the right solution.
You are on a manufacturing forum right now sir. Every day owners and operators of these companies put themselves in situations of controlled danger. Being a welder, operating a break press, working with large pieces of metal in a roll forming machine, changing the tooling on a CNC machine, powder coating, etc. None of these things are 100% safe, and that's why safety systems are so important, and preparation and setup is key to success. Telling a bunch of people who literally rely on technology daily to not use that technology because there is a chance that if done improperly will result in some consequence doesn't sound to me like you're preaching to the right crowd.
Unlike a brake press operator, making a mistake means some of your data is public. You're not losing a hand or a life. Unlike a wire EDM operator not measuring a dimension right that could cause catastrophic failure in a turbine or on a spaceship. Someone would literally have to maliciously and intentionally target you to hack you.
Do you think it's practical for any machinist to not be connected to the internet? To not have access to a wealth of information that's free and available? To communicate with customers, process drawings, get updates for SolidWorks and Master CAM? Do you suggest they ask for burned CDs and USB drives sent by mail?
I can only say that your response here is outdated and overstated. It may have been correct and appropriate in the 1990's, but not today. Owning a machine is a $10,000 expense between hardware and IT services every 3-5 years. Renting a virtual machine is $30 / month. What secrets do most machinists have that is worth losing a customer that's preferentially giving you a job that's worth $50,000 a month, stable blanket orders just because you don't want to accept a Dropbox file share so they can give you the most updated prints?
Would you like to wager what the percentage of companies between the top performing shops don't have any networked data or cloud services vs. the bottom performing ones? How many shops don't use ADP, Gusto, or some other payroll company that requires online submissions? How many shops don't use Office 365 or Gmail for their email? How many shops don't use some sort of CRM that's cloud based?
Lastly, with all due respect, anybody taking advice from an IT Professional that doesn't use and/or see the benefits of a smartphone should probably reconsider who they're getting information from.
all files that are sent to me get on a thumb drive and swapped to the main pc that hasnt ever seen a internet connection.
