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The threat of Cyber-Attacks to global stability is real

Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | Tags: | Comments (0)

Indeed, according to a report recently released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), these attacks against governments and businesses are among the top five risks in the world in terms of likelihood. These attacks are global and no one appears immune, as the examples below demonstrate –

Australia – Cyber attack strands ETrade Customers

Europe – ‘Ramnit’ malware targets Facebook, steals 45,000 passwords

Israel – Israeli credit cards hit by cyber attack

The WEF report highlights that experts seem most concerned about attacks that spark some sort of major malfunction of a power plant, water supplies or other critical system.

However, what is perhaps the most concerning aspect of the report is that experts widely acknowledge that the risks are very real but that they don’t really understand the exact threats as yet. The report, which tries to look at the next 10 years of risk, points out that technology evolves so rapidly that it is very difficult for anyone to keep up.

One of the major problems appears to be that there is a dearth of analysis about cyber-attacks after they have occurred and what can be done to prevent these in the future. A lack of co-ordination and collusion seems apparent across the industry and any reporting that is available tends to be produced by those who are in the business of selling internet security solutions, where a potential bias exists that causes scepticism.

So what can be done to protect ourselves against such attacks?

It is vital that people consider very carefully where there information is being stored and by whom. They need to be sensitive to the types of data that they enter online and ensure that organisations are securing and monitoring this data to the highest levels of accreditation. Organisations need to act in a proactive and socially responsible manner and understand their legal obligations in the protection of data.

Finally, we need to raise the awareness of the severity of these attacks and Government, business and the public need to work in partnership to share intelligence about the threats and take action to protect ourselves and others. It is this which will ensure that the UK continues to benefit from all that online technology has to offer.

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