Another week brings another series of cyber breach announcements in the news. Consumers are fed up. One news story interviewed shoppers who are switching back to good old cash.
This problem has continued to evolve and currently there are several legal actions that are underway that would make those victimized by cyber attacks able to go after and try to recover their damages from the organization that was breached. While this is a big up-hill battle, the message is coming across loud and clear: protect your systems or suffer the consequences.
But is that what is happening? A conversation I had with someone at one of the top cyber security vendors in the world revealed a far different mindset. According to that resource, a major online/physical world retailer is much better at press releases about improving cyber protection then they are taking action. That individual said that the retailer talked about improving cyber security in meeting after meeting. Then a breach occurred. The intensity of the conversations increased, but no action!
Sony is now the hot topic of conversation. The financial implications of that cyber breach are uncalculated at this point and will take years to play out. What is most interesting is that the Sony attack is being (rightly or wrongly) attributed to a nation-state — North Korea.
North Korea is the latest nation-state to launch cyber attacks against the United States and our interests. This brings up an interesting question. Will the United States government take actions to protect or defend U.S. companies that are being attacked by a nation-state? The financial implication of these breaches is taking its toll on the nation’s economy to be sure. At what point does the cumulative impact become a national security threat and will we wait till then until decisive actions are taken and what will those actions likely be?
Tis the season for cyber breaches. The problem is that every other season is rapidly becoming the season for cyber attacks as well.
