Within the last week, there have been two articles on major news sources regarding the importance of Cybersecurity in the Information Age. I’ll summarize them below. These articles demonstrate how everyone needs to have an awareness of cyber threats and the ways to handle them. We’ve seen a good trend in that Cybersecurity is now (finally!) taking a priority for organizations. Whether it’s protecting from Cyberthreats or responding to Cyber incidents, Companies need a security plan of action. They can no longer hide from Cyber risks, but proactively address them.
ABC News – FBI Director Says Cyberthreat Will Surpass Threat From Terrorists (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/fbi-director-says-cyberthreat-will-surpass-threat-from-terrorists/)
FBI Director Robert Mueller and National Intelligence Director James Clapper testified this week before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Cyberthreats. The threat of economic fraud and espionage from state actors such as Russia and China is a real and growing concern. “We foresee a cyber-environment in which emerging technologies are developed and implemented before security responses can be put in place,” Clapper said. The article lists many of the complex computer breaches that highlight the wide array of threats the officials were testifying about.
USA Today – Want CSI without the blood? Investigate computer forensics
The Television show CSI and its spin-offs has greatly enhanced the profile of forensics practices. Of course, it’s not as easy as it looks on TV. Computer forensics is a skilled discipline that takes years of practice to perfect to ensure all evidence is properly obtained and secured. Today, there’s a huge need as most investigations involve some aspect of information technology.
This article in USA Today discusses the increasing prevalence of computer forensics in law enforcement and investigations. It quotes that “Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates computer forensics jobs are expected to grow more than 13 percent in the next several years.” The growth isn’t limited to only computer forensics, but all aspects of Cybersecurity. The National Security Agency has plans to hire 3,000 specialists to combat the thousands of cyberattacks every day in the United States, while the Department of Homeland Security is hiring about 1,000 more Cybersecurity specialists
These articles show that a new warfront is cyberspace. As a nation, individuals and organizations need to step up their cyber protections and be ready when cyber attacks occur.
We will discuss this and many other aspects of Cyberwar in our webinar / live debate on Wednesday, February 22nd. See http://www.bellevue.edu/cyberwar/ for details and to register.