A survey released today, conducted by the Pew Research Center, found that the majority of major technology analysts believe that a major cyber-terrorist attack against US energy, banking, or health care systems will be carried out successfully within the next 11 years. The survey, which was given to 1,642 of the world’s most prominent technology experts asked if, in their professional opinion, they believed that a cyber-attack would cause “widespread harm to a nation’s security and capacity to defend itself” within the next 11 years.
Over 60% answered yes.
Working Nets is here with the inside scoop on the danger this impending threat could pose for your small business.
It’s Already Begun
Cyber-attacks have already risen dramatically in frequency and scope within the past year alone. Many experts cited this month’s major cyber-attack on Apple’s iCloud storage system, which many attribute as a covert action by the Chinese government, as an example of the increasing threat of digital terrorism. Jason Pontin, the editor of the MIT Technology Review also cited the 2009 Stuxnet computer worm, which disabled the centrifuges in an Iranian nuclear power plant, as an example.
Why Are They So Dangerous?
Cyber-attacks are proportionally dangerous to the amount we depend upon the internet to conduct important tasks, which shows no signs of diminishing.
Stewart Baker, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson, a Washington D.C. law firm. Was quoted as saying that “cyberware just plain makes sense. Attacking the power grid or other industrial control systems is asymmetrical and deniable and devilishly effective.” Cyber-attacks involving the theft of personal data are equally threatening, allowing terrorist groups to seize foreign capital to fund their efforts.
The Dissenting Opinion
It’s worth noting however, that the 39% who answered “no” have some pretty compelling evidence on their side as well.
“The nation-states with the capability to deliver such an attack do not have the motivation to do so,” says David Clark, a research scientist at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, invoking the mantra of mutually assured destruction that saw this country through the cold war.
Many experts agreed with Clark’s opinion and added that while new cyber-security threats do appear every day, so do new defensive measures against them. For every major threat there is always a team of dedicated technology professionals ready to quickly combat it.
Protect Your Business From Cyber-Attacks
Working Nets, employer of the area’s most talented and qualified cyber-security experts, can create a data protection solution customized for any network. Preparation is the best defense against potentially disastrous cyber-attacks. With Working Nets at your back you’ll avoid many of the other problems that could disrupt the functionality of your business on a day-to-day basis.
To talk to someone about cyber-attacks, network security and disaster preparedness for your small business, give us a call at (443) 992-7394. We’d be happy to assist you with your professional business networking needs.
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