For those of you who adamantly affirm YES, I ask you to allow me a few minutes to interject some questions.  For those who adamantly insist the answer is NO, I ask for the same consideration. 

If I based my concerns solely on the biblical prospect of the Mark of the Beast and some digital and technological mark required to buy and sell, I would automatically align with the “Naysayers” on this issue.  On the other hand, if I were to look at it from a convenience standpoint solely, I would align with the “Supporters.”  I believe many factors in this issue should be considered, including cybersecurity or the lack thereof, as well as cybercrime, which is rampant in today’s technological world.

In 2024, we have reached a technological point where our entire homes can be managed with technology. We can track anything or anyone using a smartphone and a computer. We have camera technology, where a picture from a satellite in outer space can give incredible detail of something on the ground. We are rapidly moving toward “driverless” or “autonomous” automobiles, where we get in, sit down, and pay no attention to the road or what is happening around us, as we often do in airplanes. 

Robotics in medicine allows surgeons to accomplish tasks with precision before unheard of, and technological advances allow doctors to see a 360-degree view of the human body without any invasion.  The world of technology is truly amazing, and I am often like a fish out of the water as I am exposed to it.  My grandchildren are much more comfortable in that world than I, and many I know have virtually forgotten how to write a check.  In the 21^st Century, we are rapidly becoming a cashless and paperless society, so again, I ask, “Is that a good thing?”

I recently saw a report about cyber breaches in private companies, some of which expose millions of citizens to identity theft.  The breaches, often underreported, if reported at all, are disturbing within our federal government.  This report indicated that in the fiscal year 2016, the federal government reported 30,899 information-security incidents (nice spin on what happened), and sixteen went beyond the threshold of being a Major Incident. 

That has increased exponentially in 2024. That does not include the many breaches in state or local governments’ networked systems. There is no magic fix for this problem, and as an I.T. friend of mine said, “If it is software-driven, it is hackable.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) spotlighted the inadequacy of our federal government’s defense against cyber-attacks. It is readily apparent that every governmental agency needs to step up its defenses. If you remember the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) breach in 2015, you remember that Chinese hackers stole twenty-two million personnel records. 

A second report released in September 2017 revealed that many government agencies continued to be unprepared and lacking in defenses against such crimes. Are they better prepared today? Reports indicate no!  We were told that at least twenty-one governmental agencies continued to be incredibly weak in the five major categories for information-security control: access, configuration management, segregation of duties, contingency planning, and agency-wide security management.  Could I inquire, “How safe does your information feel?”

Let me walk through some of the incidents dating back to November 2016.  The Department of the Navy discovered that a laptop containing the names and social security numbers of 134,386 current and former sailors was compromised.  The laptop belonged to a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services employee who was a Navy contractor.  WOW! 

In December 2016, we were told that the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) discovered a Russian-speaking hacker seeking to sell more than one hundred potentially compromised credentials of the EAC database.   Some of them had administrative credentials, and the hacker, calling himself “Rasputin,” had no known connection to the government agency, so it was an outside job. 

This hacker later attempted to sell access to many state and federal agencies even though the government could not identify the hack.  That is comforting, isn’t it?   In January 2017, the Department of Defense (DOD), in conjunction with HackerOne – a bug bounty platform – initiated a series of “Hack the Pentagon” campaigns and was able to access an internal DOD network.  That does not speak well of our security. 

In March and April 2017, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) acknowledged that any classified information released by those agencies should be held in question due to hacking.  We dare not omit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), where over 100,000 individuals had their taxpayer information compromised. Until the tool was turned off, hackers filed over 8,000 fraudulent applications and stole $30 MILLION from our government. 

To extrapolate further, we know there are continuing issues in the Departments of Labor, Securities and Exchange Commission, State, Energy, Homeland Security, Defense, the U.S. Postal Service, National Institutes of Health, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. One has to ask, “Just How Safe Are We?” 

The FDIC was hacked by Chinese government agents between 2010 and 2013. The U.S. Forces Korea and the Republic of Korea Armed Forces acknowledged that the North Koreans stole joint U.S.-ROK wartime operation plans. I feel so secure knowing this!

Those are just a few of the myriad Hacks or Security Breaches that have occurred over the past few years. The federal government, Credit Reporting Agencies, local banks, and financial institutions all have major issues. 

That demands the question, “Is a Cashless and Paperless Society a Good Thing?”  I have long been skeptical about putting more information online than is absolutely required and have incredible trepidation at putting my bank account number, credit card numbers, and social security number online. 

I visited a doctor’s office some time back, and the form they had me fill out included my social security number. When the lady at the computer input the information, she threw the document in the trash—not in the shredding bin, but in the Trash!  I saw it and immediately demanded she return the paper to me.  I worked as a fraud investigator for a major credit card company and know how easily identity thieves can gain more than enough information to make life miserable for us.  Can we be 100% Safe? 

NO!  Not unless we never open a credit account, use no computer technology, have no smartphones, and pay for everything in cash.  Since that is not practical for most or even possible, we are exposed to it.  If we have a cashless society and someone hacks your profile, you can be penniless instantly, and you may never recover.  We cannot depend on government, financial institutions, businesses, or even our anti-virus software to protect us.  Am I being paranoid?  Possibly, but the caviler attitude some have with their personal information troubles me.

From a Christian perspective, I oppose this technological move because I see how it can evolve into a ready tool for the Man of Sin to impose his havoc economically on our world. You may think that what I’ve written identifies me as a person possessed by Fear, but I argue that identifying reality does not mean being fearful but cautious, and if we are to be good stewards, we should be aware.  

Can we prevent a cashless and paperless society from becoming a reality? NO! It is coming, but we need to find as many ways to protect ourselves as possible. The government is not our protector and often poses as great a danger as any thief.

I have delved back several years and assert that the problem is not better but worse today. That should be a warning to each of us of the dangers of adopting a ‘Cashless Society’ or any system that allows hackers and the government to intercept everything we do and steal from us with ease.

God bless you, and God bless America. That is my prayer!