Hmmm, agree or disagree: Version 9.5 can wait while R&D works on securing the cyber door.
The term cyber security is thrown around a lot these days but mostly in a negative context. It is apparent that there is an inherent contradiction in the term. In fact, it arguably meets the definition for an oxymoron. If you have not heard that word, it refers to a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction. Example: bittersweet.
There is a semblance of security in place for the cyber world. But in my estimation it is about as effective as a sieve. There are countless tiny holes that hackers can and do readily exploit to their advantage. Ransomware attacks – malicious software that denies a user’s access to a system until a sum of money is paid – are the most troublesome form of this exploitation.
Ransomware culprits have recently made a practice of targeting municipal governments. The City of Hamilton experienced an attack in late February and is in the midst of the chaos it creates. The Ontario towns of St. Mary’s and Stratford were also hit in recent years. Both opted to pay the ransom: $290 in cryptocurrency for St. Mary’s and $75,000 in bitcoin for Stratford.
Ransomware attacks are rapidly escalating – reportedly up by 50% during the first half of 2023 – with ransomware attackers pulling in over $1 billion from victims for the year.
The culprits carrying out these attacks are getting much better at what they do. From what I have read, the average number of days taken to execute an attack has dropped from around 60 days to only 4. Equally concerning, the perpetrators are now exploring ways to use artificial intelligence (AI) to automate and accelerate attacks. Thank you very much AI!
I confess that I understand only about one per cent of the cyber world and its working parts. But I cannot help but wonder why the industry does not do more to protect us. FYI: Increasingly complicated multi-factor authentication protocols do not qualify as solutions in my book. All they do is delegate responsibility for guarding the cyber door to end users. In essence, saying: Stick your finger in the hole in the dyke. Problem solved.
We all know about phishing e-mails and do our best to recognize them. But these e-mails are getting increasingly clever. I received one a couple of weeks ago advising me that my Facebook account would be frozen within 24 hours – for “inappropriate content” – and instructing me to follow the link to dispute the claim. It was quite convincing and I almost fell for it.
I have maintained for some time that the big tech companies should reallocate half of their R&D staff to developing better protection against these attacks. If they can develop increasingly sophisticated systems, surely that expertise can be applied to the cyber security problem.
Cyber criminals are the 21st century equivalent of burglars looking to break into our cyber house. It is incumbent on the tech industry to better secure the cyber doors to the systems they create.
Hey, tech guys: Put Version 9.5 of your software – with ten new functions I will never use – on hold until you can effectively secure the software. The security sieve you have in place now is woefully inadequate. The cyber doors are hanging half open. You need to secure them now!
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Tags: cyber security · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · ransomwareNo Comments