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Are you nervous about cyber-threats now that WikiLeaks has been widely publicized? I am, and you should be. We all know about the dangers to privacy and security on the Internet, but until now, we somehow seemed immune from it. These so called invasions happened to somebody else. Now it is closer to home.
When hundreds of thousands of classified memos are blasted into our consciousness, that blanket of comfortable distance falls away. WikiLeaks touched off a cyber-storm of awareness and concern. It is a wake-up call and a warning of what might come next.
Used in the right combinations, hacking, viruses, worms, invasions, malware and distributed denial of service attacks can invade and/or shut down almost any modern system. When the human element is added to the mix, the problem grows. Humans are remarkably ingenious and flexible, yet, at the same time emotional and unpredictable. Early hackers did it for fun and mischief. If mischief turns malicious, trouble is not far behind.
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, started as a young hacker in Australia. Now, backed by a larger group of (mostly) youthful rebels, WikiLeaks steals and reveals hundreds of thousands of classified cables and memos. Suddenly, any illusion of privacy or security is gone. Aided by a single insider, WikiLeaks touched off a cyber-storm of awareness and concern, creating instant involuntary transparency.
Computer systems, which run everything, are the product of human and electronic logic. If someone tries to break into them, that can be detected and, sometimes, prevented. Security companies everywhere create firewalls and software to identify and stop most of the invasions — but not all of them. The intervention of people and the dynamic nature of computer networks, means that if just one invasion gets through, the system is breached. Then, invaders can pour through the breach. Former U.S. government expert Richard Clarke describes such barriers with brutal honesty, saying, “They just don’t work.”
I don’t believe anyone knows how to stop these attacks. The U.S. government has been ominously silent. It doesn’t know how to stop hackers, or even slow them down. The Chinese, known to be among the world’s most advanced hackers, are concerned. China claims to have the ultimate protection: named the “Great Firewall of China,” it can disconnect China’s Internet from the global network, but that remains untested and unproven. No one has any idea how to retaliate, either.
Are you nervous about cyber-threats now that WikiLeaks has been widely publicized? I am, and you should be. We all know about the dangers to privacy and security on the Internet, but until now, we somehow seemed immune from it. These so called invasions happened to somebody else. Now it is closer to home.
When hundreds of thousands of classified memos are blasted into our consciousness, that blanket of comfortable distance falls away. WikiLeaks touched off a cyber-storm of awareness and concern. It is a wake-up call and a warning of what might come next.
Used in the right combinations, hacking, viruses, worms, invasions, malware and distributed denial of service attacks can invade and/or shut down almost any modern system. When the human element is added to the mix, the problem grows. Humans are remarkably ingenious and flexible, yet, at the same time emotional and unpredictable. Early hackers did it for fun and mischief. If mischief turns malicious, trouble is not far behind.
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, started as a young hacker in Australia. Now, backed by a larger group of (mostly) youthful rebels, WikiLeaks steals and reveals hundreds of thousands of classified cables and memos. Suddenly, any illusion of privacy or security is gone. Aided by a single insider, WikiLeaks touched off a cyber-storm of awareness and concern, creating instant involuntary transparency.
Computer systems, which run everything, are the product of human and electronic logic. If someone tries to break into them, that can be detected and, sometimes, prevented. Security companies everywhere create firewalls and software to identify and stop most of the invasions — but not all of them. The intervention of people and the dynamic nature of computer networks, means that if just one invasion gets through, the system is breached. Then, invaders can pour through the breach. Former U.S. government expert Richard Clarke describes such barriers with brutal honesty, saying, “They just don’t work.”
I don’t believe anyone knows how to stop these attacks. The U.S. government has been ominously silent. It doesn’t know how to stop hackers, or even slow them down. The Chinese, known to be among the world’s most advanced hackers, are concerned. China claims to have the ultimate protection: named the “Great Firewall of China,” it can disconnect China’s Internet from the global network, but that remains untested and unproven. No one has any idea how to retaliate, either.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, the Pentagon’s most advanced scientific group, is trying to tackle these invasions. A cyber-security researcher, and former hacker, Pieter Zarko, leads the project. Zarko proved his prowess by showing he could shut down large chunks of the U. S. telephone system, and claimed he and his hacker friends could shut down the Internet in 30 minutes. But can his new effort stop the new wave of invasions? No one knows, including him.
Finally, and perhaps worst of all, is the untraceable nature of most cyber-security breaches. Current systems are always reacting to the last attack, without knowing where the next one will originate. The dilemma is not just stopping the attack, but how, and against whom to retaliate.
Welcome to the new world of involuntary transparency, where very little is truly private. From your Facebook page to your Twitter tweets, someone might be watching and listening. Maybe it won’t be WikiLeaks, but it sure is a warning and a wake-up call.
John Mariotti is an executive and an award winning business author. His new novel is “The Chinese Conspiracy.” Contact him at www.mariotti.net or www.thechinesecomspiracy.com.
