The cyber battlefront is heating up…

While there’s been no official declaration of war, the Cyberwar is well underway. So much so that NATO even recently released a manual establishing the “rules” of cyber warfare. There are fingers being pointed in every direction. The U.S. blames, China. China blames the U.S. North Korea just allegedly attacked South Korea. Everybody is involved even if there’s a dispute around who started it. I’m glad the U.S. is beginning to take a more aggressive approach considering some say we’re already losing the battle.

I read article after article saying we are simply not prepared for a cyber-war. Whether it’s the media sensationalizing or not, President Obama’s got his work cut out for him. Cyber threats aren’t your typical threats. It’s not one country invading another with bombs and tanks. These kinds of attacks happen in the shadows, out of sight and out of mind. Fear of the unknown can be the worst fear of all. Cyber-attacks present opportunities never even considered before so obviously we haven’t prepared for all possible outcomes. We don’t know what we don’t know.

Based on reports, China continues to steal intellectual property from American businesses at an alarming rate. Today it seems like there are two kinds of companies: 1) companies who’ve been hacked and know it and 2) companies who’ve been hacked and don’t know it. From the largest corporations to the smallest mom and pop stores, everyone’s a target. It’s gotten to the point where the U.S. publically called out China to stop commercial cyber-espionage and theft of trade secrets. Naturally China denies the attacks, claiming the U.S. has unjustly portrayed them as the villain. These attacks will continue and I’m not sure we can really do anything to stop them.

One solution could be sending our own cyber troops into battle per se. According to Defense Department officials, the Pentagon’s Cyber Command will deploy more than 100 cyber teams within the next three years. These teams will be divided into three forces. Cyber-Protection forces will defend the military networks. Combat Mission and National Mission forces will focus more on offensive operations. Without getting into a “government overstepping its bounds” argument, I can’t help but wonder if these “cyber troops” will be called on to aid the private sector as well. Shine the bat signal or something, we need help. I don’t care how good a company’s IT Security organization is, they’re no match for a nation-state and their resources.

Additional Reading

The Art of Cyberwar (Slate)

China hacking claims: tech firms move to front line in US cyberwar (The Guardian UK)

Hack Attack: China and the U.S. Trade Barbs on Cyberwarfare (Time)

Rising cyber-nationalism leads to amplified cyber-mistrust (TechWorld)

US in Cyberwar Arms Race with China, Russia (NBC News)