On Monday, December 18, 2017, the White House released a strategy document, calling for stronger defenses against hackers working for criminal enterprises and nations such as Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia. In this document, the White House stated that threats targeting cybersecurity pose a threat to the stability of the United States. As outlined in our blog post from November 2 this year, countries such as Iran are boosting their offensive cyber capabilities and spreading their cyber terror around the world. Along with Iran, the United States has now also tagged other countries which are targeting US infrastructures. Regardless if it belongs to a governmental agency, corporation, or a private person, networks are constantly bombarded by cybercrooks who are trying to breach it.
As 2017 is coming to a close, it is clear that threats to cybersecurity are also threats to the stability of a country – first and foremost the United States and an appropriate cyber warfare response is crucial. The year 2017 has seen many new cyber campaigns targeting millions of victims worldwide – from common households to huge organizations such as Equifax, FedEx, and Maersk. These attacks were performed by individual hackers, seasoned cyber criminals, and even nations such as North Korea, Iran, and Russia. As it looks now, 2018 will experience more of the same.
There are many issues to worry about in the coming year. In contrast to just a few years ago, the awareness is currently high, and the US government is boosting cyber security resilience. Various agencies are taking charge of the country’s cyber defense and are launching offensive actions against the cyber threats that are out there. Information on how to prepare and better protect is widely available; any household, company, or industry can simply visit the US CERT website to be updated about a wide range of attack methods. The website also offers excellent detailed procedures and tips on a variety of topics, including how to secure your assets, and how to be aware of phishing attacks and malware proliferation. Reviewing and implementing the measures described on that website will not only be useful but also assist in improving cyber security resilience to be at par with current and future threats.
Assessing cyber warfare response readiness requires switching from the classic reactive scanning stance to a proactive security validation approach.
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