The Next 9/11 Will Be A Cyber Attack

The FBI has compared recent cyber attacks on US government and corporate entities to the same level of threat presented by the 9/11 terrorist attack. 

US Admiral James Stavridis,  ex- NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, has echoed this perspective in a recent TV interview. “We’re headed toward a cyber Pearl Harbor, and it is going to come at either the grid or the financial sector... we need to think about this cyber attack as a pandemic.”

Now, as tension in Ukraine grows, some security experts are saying that a cyber attack of devastating proportions is only a matter of time.

The rapid transformation from office-based activity to remote work prompted by the Coronavirus pandemic has demanded the adoption of robust cyber security protocols to mitigate the risk many organisations face from  malware and ransomware.

Pressure Points On Critical Infrastructure 

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report ranks cyber security failure among the greatest threats facing humanity within the next decade, saying “…attackers could trigger a breakdown in the systems that keep societies functioning.” Industry and critical infrastructure which need to be running continuously - such as nuclear power plants, banking operations, intensive care units in hospitals and Coronavirus vaccine distribution - could be potential targets for hackers, whether they are small groups or state actors. 

Concerns exist that nation-state actors will test the pressure points of critical infrastructure through hacks with the aim of sowing seeds of more chaos by disrupting the supply chains during future periods of geo-political conflict. At such times, targeting food and energy supplies of an adversary will be a classic strategy to begin with. 

Escalating Concerns

The hacking of the Colonial Pipeline controlling  45 percent of fuel in the Eastern US, led to panic buying of petrol by consumers which in turn escalated fuel prices on the entire Eastern coast.  Around the world, recent cyber attacks on critical infrastructure in Australia and Israel the vulnerabiltiy of some of the computer operated distribution networks upon which nations rely.  

These are various  scenarios that concern independent cyber security experts and they have three common characteristics: 

  • Physical attacks that shut off or damage some aspect of critical services.
  • Financial attacks that spin out of control and lead to bank runs. 
  • Disinformation via manipulating data and information in a way that undermines trust in critical national institutions.

Today, its not hard to imagine a scenario  in which a cyber attack could shut down basic services such as electricity or water supply, which can and will adversely affect millions of people. 

The Challenge Facing Policymakers

Political leaders all over the world are waking up to the serious threats posed by cyber warfare. Huawei's 5G technology is an example where companies all over the globe, policy makers and governments, especially of Denmark, India, Japan, and South Africa have raised issues about the geopolitical neutrality and the subsequent threat to sovereignty from private corporations involved within the cyber realm. 

Some countries have issued a complete ban on Huawei 5G communications equipment, although the Chinese the company continues to gains more ground by virtue of low pricing for its innovative technology 

Technology innovation is not likely to slow and indeed digital advances are likely to accelerate. Super-computing and quantum computing will push change ahead and enable even more powerful digital applications. Only by focusing on controlling technological advances will vulnerable nations be able to address the  problems of misinformation, personal privacy, cyber security and disinformation. 

WEF:     Brookings:      Economic Times:    Guardian:       CNBC:      Biometrica

You Might Also Read: 

Cyber Warfare Is The New Frontier:

 

 

« Is Cyber Training Fit For Purpose?
NATO & Ukraine Agree Deeper Cyber Co-operation »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout enables cyber security professionals to reduce cyber risk to their organization with proactive security solutions, providing immediate improvement in security posture and ROI.

TÜV SÜD Academy UK

TÜV SÜD Academy UK

TÜV SÜD offers expert-led cybersecurity training to help organisations safeguard their operations and data.

Resecurity

Resecurity

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

AdNovum Informatik

AdNovum Informatik

AdNovum Informatik provides a full set of IT services, ranging from consulting, the conception and implementation of customized business and security solutions to maintenance and support.

Bottomline Technologies

Bottomline Technologies

Bottomline Technologies is an innovator in business payment automation technology, helping companies make complex business payments simple, smart and secure.

SMiD Cloud

SMiD Cloud

SMiD encryption technology has been developed following the highest security practices to allow the data availability, integrity and confidentiality.

Destel

Destel

Destel is a system integrator and provider of IT services focused on Advanced Network & Security Solutions.

German Accelerator

German Accelerator

German Accelerator supports high-potential German startups in successfully entering the U.S. and Southeast Asian markets.

Variti

Variti

Variti Intelligent Active Bot Protection technology — traffic analysis, detection and stopping of malicious bots in real-time and effective response to DDoS attacks.

DataDog

DataDog

DataDog provides Cloud-native Security Monitoring. Real-time threat detection across your applications, network, and infrastructure.

eXate

eXate

eXate provides pioneering technology that empowers organisations to protect, control and manage their sensitive data centrally, providing a complete data privacy solution.

Sansec

Sansec

Sansec is the global leader in eCommerce malware and vulnerability detection. We help you to stay ahead of hackers!

SOOS

SOOS

SOOS is the easy-to-integrate software security solution for your whole team. Build, catch, and fix vulnerabilities with SOOS Software Composition Analysis.

Pathlock

Pathlock

Pathlock (formerly Greenlight) help enterprises and organizations automate the enforcement of any process, access, or IT general control, for any business application.

MyCISO

MyCISO

MyCISO is the World’s first SaaS application that will vastly simplify security management for all.

Cynical Technology

Cynical Technology

Cynical Technology is a Nepalese cybersecurity company with expertise in security consulting, auditing, testing and compliance.

Attestiv

Attestiv

Attestiv puts authenticity into photos, videos and documents by utilizing advanced technologies in AI and tamper-proofing.

Anetac

Anetac

Developed by seasoned cybersecurity experts, the Anetac Identity and Security Platform protects threat surface exploited via service accounts.

ecfirst

ecfirst

ecfirst's mission is to establish AI platforms and service capabilities to assess and manage client compliance with global mandates on a continual basis to secure business data and assets.