Rajinder Tumber
A new year fills us with new hopes,
Facing attacks with new scopes.
Are disasters & election hacking on their way?
Are major cyber attacks here to stay?
This series was not intended to shatter your New Year's celebration but rather, it was intended to instil you with some powerful self-awareness and willpower to take action this year.
In Part 1, I state my belief that a major cyber attack will strike in 2019. I also begin to describe Category 1 cyber attacks, which are a national cyber emergency with consequences as severe as the potential loss of life. In Part 2, I discussed the detrimental effect of election hacking.
Considering our rapidly advancing world, perhaps it's not so unbelievable why I began Part 1 with this prediction of Category 1 and Category 2 attacks:
"I believe a major cyber attack is on its way in 2019, causing disruption and devastation. The only limitation will be the attacker's imagination."
We must keep our fingers on the pulse! This year will bring us lightning speed 5G technology, advancements in drone technology, smart cities, driverless cars, artificial intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and more! But these will also increase the threat landscape to our Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). During 2019, we must understand the value and importance of our assets, as well as the potential threats should a cyber attack take place. Then, investments must be made in a strong cyber security strategy. For comprehensive information, see my article: "3 Reasons to Invest in Cyber Security" – Coming soon.
Once a security investment has been established, governments, private industry and academic bodies must continue to actively collaborate and educate each other, as well as the general public. Evidently, we must raise the awareness of the importance of cyber security, especially as systems may be tied to Category 1 attacks with the potential to undermine electoral systems (as discussed in Part 2).
Election processes must be protected. To avoid compromised electoral systems, their infrastructure must be assessed at regular intervals. This involves public statements being made by political parties in order to discourage threat actors and educate voters about disinformation campaigns. The political parties, their candidates, staff and volunteers must be trained and supported to better protect their campaigns. Additionally, if it was made mandatory for donors to review and accept some form of basic cyber hygiene certificate from the political party, this would encourage security to be adopted.
It only takes one small weakness to allow an attacker to create a giant problem—potentially even a global problem. A significant portion of a country's vulnerability to attack stems from a lack of security education and budget (although money for bailouts doesn't seem to be a problem!). Are these really valid reasons for not integrating some form of nationwide cyber security training? Or is it the case that we are willing to accept a Category 1 cyber attack that may potentially encourage the breakout of war? The bottom line is that cyber security strategies will help to usher in a bright 2019 for us all; consider making it a part of your New Year’s resolution.
I am an award-winning cybersecurity specialist, blockchain investor, artificial intelligence advisor to the All-Party Parliamentary Group, university mentor, sci-fi novelist, screenwriter, and a world record-breaking poet. For more details, see: www.RSTumber.com
My thought-provoking books, based on philosophy, ancient history and metaphysical mysteries, can be found on my website: www.RSTumber.com
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