Brilliantly researched article from the Wall Street Journal this morning.
The entire thing is worth the read but I will let you in on one little line that should be repeated to everyone you know for as long as it takes...
One of those interviewed for the story was "Brandon Wales, a former top U.S. cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security" and he had this fantastic point to make:
"prepositioning and intelligence collection by the hackers “are designed to ensure they prevail by keeping the U.S. from projecting power, and inducing chaos at home"
Did you catch that?
If that didn't strike you like a bean bag from a 12 gauge let me break it down further...
We are in a new COLD WAR, the battlefield is not nuclear its CYBER.
Trust me I know how that sounds but hear me out. The overly simplistic underlying issue throughout the Cold War of the 20th century was mutually assured destruction between the United States and the Soviet Union. What does mutually assured destruction mean? It means that the US and Russia were both feverishly spending, researching, developing, testing, deploying, positioning, flying, floating and flexing nuclear weapons ALL OVER THE WORLD all the time to make sure the other was always aware that they were ready for a conflict. A fight that would without fail result in devastating (and probably total annihilation) for both nations. A dark and terrible time in history for citizens on both sides of the standoff.
Now, today we find ourselves in THIS situation, you review and let me know if you think my statement rings true. The United States, China, Russia and a handful of other not insignificant participants are feverishly spending, researching, developing, testing, deploying, positioning, flying, floating, diving, orbiting, and flexing CYBER weapons ALL OVER THE WORLD all the time to make sure everyone is always aware that they are ready for a conflict.
See what I mean? ....take a moment to look around your life. If it has a microchip, its vulnerable. Period.
However, I think one brilliant thing about how we as citizens are positioned today (in this new Cold War) is that this time, we can FIGHT BACK.
If you own a small business or work in government/big business it is my view that your duty to your clients, your staff and (yes it sounds dramatic) but your nation is to SECURE that organization to the best of your ability. This is NOT a small gesture, it is HUGE. Strengthening our security posture is a powerful play in this world wide war. You are not just a small player, you are significant!
