Tuesday, July 12, 2016
It’s all about code—the building blocks of the Internet. Software code is full of unintentional defects. Governments are paying heavy prices to skilled hackers who can unearth these vulnerabilities, says an article at nytimes.com.
In fact, the FBI director, James B. Comey, recommended that the FBI pay hackers a whopping $1.3 million to figure out how to circumvent Apple’s iPhone security.
So driven is this “bug-and-exploit trade market,” that a bug-and-exploit hacking company, Hacking Team, ended up being hacked last summer.
The software companies that create code don’t get to learn what the vulnerabilities are that the richly paid hackers discover. This has been going on for two decades-plus.
Here are some sizzling facts from nytimes.com:
- Over a hundred governments have reported they have an offensive cyberwar program.
- Iran boasts being in the No. 3 spot in the world for digital army size (trailing the U.S. and China), though this can’t be confirmed.
- However, Iranian hackers have demonstrated their skill more than once, and it’s not pretty. For instance, they were responsible for the rash of U.S. bank hacking incidents in 2013.
- Though Iran’s cyber power lags behind that of the U.S.’s, they’re steadily closing the big gap.
- Most nations keep details of their cyberwar programs classified.
It has been surmised by many a security expert that WWIII will be largely digital. Imagine how crippling it would be if a nation’s grid was dismantled—affecting major networks across that country—such as healthcare, shipping and banking and other critical infrastructures such as food and water supply.
There’s not a whole ton you can do about this battle. However, you should, at a minimum, prepare your physical life for any digital disasters. Prepare the same way you would if you knew there was a severe storm coming. Store dry foods, water, extra climate appropriate clothing, and cash, preferably lots of small bills. This is just a short list. Seek out numerous resources on ready.gov to learn more.
Robert Siciliano CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.
About the Author
ROBERT SICILIANO, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com is fiercely committed to informing, educating, and empowering Americans so they can be protected from violence and crime in the physical and virtual worlds. His "tell it like it is" style is sought after by major media outlets, executives in the C-Suite of leading corporations, meeting planners, and community leaders to get the straight talk they need to stay safe in a world in which physical and virtual crime is commonplace. Siciliano is accessible, real, professional, and ready to weigh in and comment at a moment's notice on breaking news.
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