May 04 2021

ON THE INTERNET THE “COLD” WAR HAS TURNED HOT

Category: Cyber War,Digital cold warDISC @ 9:20 am

America has a serious infrastructure problem.

America’s most urgent infrastructure vulnerability is largely invisible and unlikely to be fixed by the Biden administration’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan.

I’m thinking about vulnerabilities that lurk in your garage (your car), your house (your computer), and even your pocket (your phone). Like those devices of yours, all connected to the Internet and so hackable, American businesses, hospitals, and public utilities can also be hijacked from a distance thanks to the software that helps run their systems. And don’t think that the American military and even cybersecurity agencies and firms aren’t seriously at risk, too.

Such vulnerabilities stem from bugs in the programs — and sometimes even the hardware — that run our increasingly wired society. Beware “zero-day” exploits — so named because you have zero days to fix them once they’re discovered — that can attract top-dollar investments from corporations, governments, and even black-market operators. Zero days allow backdoor access to iPhones, personal email programs, corporate personnel files, even the computers that run dams, voting systems, and nuclear power plants.

It’s as if all of America were now protected by nothing but a few old padlocks, the keys to which have been made available to anyone with enough money to buy them (or enough ingenuity to make a set for themselves). And as if that weren’t bad enough, it was America that inadvertently made these keys available to allies, adversaries, and potential blackmailers alike.

The recent SolarWinds hack of federal agencies, as well as companies like Microsoft, for which the Biden administration recently sanctioned Russia and expelled several of its embassy staff, is only the latest example of how other countries can hack basic American infrastructure. Such intrusions, which actually date back to the early 2000s, are often still little more than tests, ways of getting a sense of how easy it might be to break into that infrastructure in more serious ways later. Occasionally, however, the intruders do damage by vacuuming up data or wiping out systems, especially if the targets fail to pay cyber-ransoms. More insidiously, hackers can also plant “time bombs” capable of going off at some future moment.

ON THE INTERNET THE “COLD” WAR HAS TURNED HOT

The Coming Cyber War

Tags: Cyber-warfare, cybergeddon, cyberwar, cyberwarfare


Mar 28 2014

How organization can handle cyberthreats

Category: cyber security,CybercrimeDISC @ 12:13 pm

CyberActivisim

CyberWar, CyberTerror, CyberCrime and CyberActivism

Successful cyberattacks can damage your organization, no matter who is behind them

The goals of the cyberterrorist, the cybercriminal, the cyberactivist and the state-sponsored hacker may not be the same – but the outcomes can be equally devastating. Each can cause serious challenges for your organisation, ranging from information theft and disruption of normal operations to loss of reputation or credibility.

Cyber security is much more than technology

Many books on cybersecurity focus on technical responses to these threats. As important as this is, human fallibility and other known vulnerabilities will still allow hackers to easily break into a system that has not taken account of these factors.

CyberWar, CyberTerror, CyberCrime and CyberActivism encourages cybersecurity professionals to take a wider view of what cybersecurity means, and to make the most of international standards and best practices to create a culture of cybersecurity awareness within their organizations that complements their technology-based defences.

A cyber aware workforce equals better security
This second edition takes a deep look at the changing threats in the cyber landscape, and includes an updated body of knowledge that describes how to acquire, develop, and sustain a secure information environment that goes beyond technology. This enables you to move towards a cyber aware organisational culture that is more robust and better able to deal with a wider range of threats. Related references, as well as recommendations for additional reading, are included at the end of each chapter making this a valuable resource for trainers and researchers as well as cybersecurity practitioners.

Pre-Order this book today and see how international standards can boost your cyber defences. (download – Adobe, ePub, kindle)

About the author
Dr Julie Mehan is the Founder and President of JEMStone Strategies and a Principal in a strategic consulting firm in the State of Virginia. She has delivered cybersecurity and related privacy services to senior commercial, department of defence and federal government clients working in Italy, Australia, Canada, Belgium, and the United States. Dr Mehan is also an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland University College, specializing in courses in Cybersecurity, Cyberterror, IT in Organizations and Ethics in an Internet Society.

Comprehensive Cyber Security Risk Management Toolkit

 




Tags: CyberActivism, Cybercrime, CyberTerror, cyberwar


Jan 27 2011

Cyber Attacks Jeopardize Superpower Status

Category: cyber securityDISC @ 3:09 pm

Cyberspace enable e-mail, electricity grids, international banking and military superiority.
We can’t live without cyberspace – but increasingly, experts say its openness is putting the United States in jeopardy.

“We can say that sovereignty’s at risk,” said Sami Saydjari. He heads the Cyber Defense Agency, an information security company.

“Basically our whole superpower status as the United States depends on computers,” he said. “We lose them, we lose our status as a superpower. We become a Third World country overnight.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3rNiKF4ku8




Tags: Cyber Defense Agency, Cyber-warfare, cyberwar, Sami Saydjari, superpower status