The Cyber Security Contradiction

Hmmm, agree or disagree: Version 9.5 canwait while R&D works on securing the cyber door.

The term cyber security is thrown around a lot these days but mostly in a negative context. It is apparent that there is an inherent contradiction in the term. In fact, it arguably meets the definition for an oxymoron. If you have not heard that word, it refers to a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction. Example: bittersweet.

There is a semblance of security inplace for the cyber world. But in my estimation it is about as effective as asieve. There are countless tiny holes that hackers can and do readily exploitto their advantage. Ransomware attacks – malicious software that denies auser’s access to a system until a sum of money is paid – are the mosttroublesome form of this exploitation.

Ransomware culprits have recently made apractice of targeting municipal governments. The City of Hamilton experiencedan attack in late February and is in the midst of the chaos it creates. TheOntario towns of St. Mary’s and Stratford were also hit in recent years. Both optedto pay the ransom: $290 in cryptocurrency for St. Mary’s and $75,000 in bitcoinfor Stratford.

Ransomware attacks are rapidlyescalating – reportedly up by 50% during the first half of 2023 –  with ransomware attackers pulling in over $1billion from victims for the year.

The culprits carrying out these attacksare getting much better at what they do. From what I have read, the averagenumber of days taken to execute an attack has dropped from around 60 days to only4. Equally concerning, the perpetrators are now exploring ways to useartificial intelligence (AI) to automate and accelerate attacks. Thank you verymuch AI!

I confess that I understand only about one per cent of the cyber world and its working parts. But I cannot help but wonder why the industry does not do more to protect us. FYI: Increasingly complicated multi-factor authentication protocols do not qualify as solutions in my book. All they do is delegate responsibility for guarding the cyber door to end users. In essence, saying: Stick your finger in the hole in the dyke. Problem solved.

We all know about phishing e-mails anddo our best to recognize them. But these e-mails are getting increasingly clever.I received one a couple of weeks ago advising me that my Facebook account wouldbe frozen within 24 hours – for “inappropriate content” – and instructing me tofollow the link to dispute the claim. It was quite convincing and I almost fellfor it.

I have maintained for some time that thebig tech companies should reallocate half of their R&D staff to developingbetter protection against these attacks. If they can develop increasinglysophisticated systems, surely that expertise can be applied to the cybersecurity problem.

Cyber criminals are the 21stcentury equivalent of burglars looking to break into our cyber house. It is incumbenton the tech industry to better secure the cyber doors to the systems theycreate.

Hey, tech guys: Put Version 9.5 of your software – with ten new functions I will never use – on hold until you can effectively secure the software. The security sieve you have in place now is woefully inadequate. The cyber doors are hanging half open. You need to secure them now!

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~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Untilthe Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which wasa double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’swebsite at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

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