Tech in the Wild
This radio frequency tech is embedded in ear tags or microchips to track individual animals when scanned.
What is RFID?
This common cyber attack shares its name with an activity done on a quiet lake with a hook and line.
What is Phishing?
In 1947, Admiral Grace Hopper recorded the first actual computer bug trapped in a Harvard Mark II relay—it was this specific insect.
What is a Moth?
VPN — standard protocol for game wardens securely connecting back to headquarters from the field.
What is Virtual Private Network?
The IT department’s #1 recommended fix when a park entrance gate scanner stops working.
What is "Have you tried turning it off and on again?"
Motion-activated field cameras deployed in state and national parks stream images over these high-latency, low-bandwidth networks.
What are Cellular / Satellite networks (or IoT networks)?
Like a perimeter fence around a state park, this network security system monitors and controls incoming and outgoing traffic.
What is a Firewall?
This rodent species is infamous in field IT for chewing through buried fiber optic lines and field station cabling.
What is a Squirrel (or Beaver / Gopher)?
SaaS — cloud software delivery model used for public campground reservation systems.
What is Software as a Service?
This environmental hazard is the leading non-human cause of hardware failure in field office desktop PCs.
What is Dust / Humidity / Heat?
Biologists use these low-Earth-orbit satellite systems to track migratory birds and marine life across oceans.
What is GPS / Argos satellite tracking?
This malicious software encrypts an agency’s hunting license database and demands payment to restore access.
What is Ransomware?
When a server suffers a "Kernel Panic" or "Blue Screen," field tech jargon often says the server has gone into this state, similar to a bear in winter.
What is Hibernation?
LiDAR — laser scanning technology mounted on aircraft to map forest canopies and topography.
What is Light Detection and Ranging?
This mobile radio standard (often abbreviated P25) is used by park law enforcement and game wardens for critical voice comms.
What is Project 25?
This spatial software suite by Esri is the industry standard used by park scientists to map animal habitats and trail boundaries.
What is ArcGIS?
This authentication method requires a park ranger logging into the IT portal to enter both a password and an authenticator code.
What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA / 2FA)?
This term describes a software bug that disappears or changes its behavior when you try to study or isolate it.
What is a Heisenbug?
REST API — architectural style used to integrate public web portals with backend licensing databases.
What is Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface?
This type of backup strategy ensures park records survive a wildfire or hurricane by storing data in a different physical region.
What is Offsite / Geo-redundant Backup?
To power remote weather sensors and trail cams miles off the power grid, engineers deploy these off-grid power systems consisting of two primary components.
What are Solar Panels and Deep-Cycle/Lithium Batteries?
Named after a deceptive wooden gift in Greek mythology, this malware disguises itself as legitimate park management software.
What is a Trojan Horse?
In python programming, this built-in function shares its name with an amphibian that leaps from tree to tree.
What is exec() or zip()?
UPS — hardware that keeps field office servers alive during a lightning storm power outage before generators kick in.
What is Uninterruptible Power Supply?
When a remote ranger station loses internet because a tree fell on the copper line, field IT deploys this temporary wireless solution.
What is a Cellular/Starlink Satellite Hotspot?