On January 31st FBI Director Robert Mueller and National Intelligence Director James Clapper noted in a US Senate hearing that cyber threats – such as cyber-espionage, computer crime and attacks on critical infrastructure – will surpass terrorism as the number one threat facing the US.
Sadly, this may not really be “news” for those of us who have been closely following cyber crime, cyber espionage, and cyber warfare these past 10 years.
For instance, this past week there was an announcement about Chinese-backed attackers breaching security at seven different law firms in Toronto as well as Canada’s Finance Ministry and Treasury Board. It appears that their intention was to steal data associated with the $40B acquisition of the world’s largest potash producer by an Australian mining giant. Access to this data is invaluable and it can give an advantage to the thief during deal negotiations.
There have been similar concerns expressed as far back as 2008 when there were concerns about attacks on global oil and gas interests in order to steal exploration data and use the information to have an advantage during leasehold contract purchases.
Adding to the FBI’s announcement, the World Economic Forum announced on January 27ththat they would launch a new initiative to improve global cyber resilience which they are calling “Partnering for Cyber Resilience.”
Fortunately, the large institutions of the world are beginning to recognize these threats and the harmful impacts they can have on our economy and critical infrastructure integrity; however, there is a lot more that needs to be done.
For instance companies need to take cyber security seriously. Often we have seen examples where simple controls such as employee education, anti-virus, and system patching are not effectively performed – and maintained. We’ve seen the advancements in mobile computing but without any forethought in the cyber consequences if the devices are stolen or hacked. The 2011 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) – written in conjunction with the US Secret Service and Dutch authorities – can give you other examples of breaches we’ve seen and ways to at least hinder them.
It is great news to see and hear that US government authorities continue to raise the flag on cyber-impacts; however, this is not something that should be taken lightly and it cannot be solved by the US government alone. It is a national issue requiring all levels of support and attention.
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