Editor’s Note: This article is part of a larger series of Q&As that originated in the future-focused UD Magazine. To see additional questions, please visit the Envisioning the Future website.

Beyond the ability to damage critical infrastructure (like power grids and supply chains) through hacking, we’re seeing more informational warfare, where fake news is used to create dissention in governments and pit people against each other. This leads to the ability to create chaos, damage public trust and undermine political systems through information alone. Maybe we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg at this point.

Right now, the Internet is kind of like the Wild West: There’s no way to thoroughly fact check the endless information that exists. Perhaps in the future, there will be some type of mechanism to validate what’s online. With regards to elections, we need to do a better job securing the voting process, which is a cybersecurity issue.

We’re also beginning to see more attacks from the “Internet of Things,” cases where network-connected devices like webcams, DVR recorders, even appliances and automobiles have been infected with malware. For instance, if hackers can access your DVR, they can use its computing power to participate in a cyber attack without you knowing it. There’s also an illegal market on the web for any personal information they can access.

As consumers, we can install software to protect our computers, but we can’t utilize such security measures with applications like Alexa or Siri. Who’s securing the information they collect? Companies must ask this question and develop products with heightened security in mind. One feature that would be helpful in the future would be the ability to shut down malware-infected devices and stop attacks in real time.

There’s also a shortage of expertise in this field, which is why the University of Delaware is working to educate the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Through advanced training, we can help them to secure our digital systems and strengthen our critical infrastructure.

John D’Arcy is a University of Delaware associate professor of Management Information Systems, a Robert and Kathy Deutsch Faculty Fellow and a committee member of the UD Cybersecurity Initiative.