cyber threat intelligence urgecy

People cannot afford to remain complacent given the evolving nature of the cyber threat, where attackers are knowledgeable, persistent, and well-funded in their efforts. Organizations should feel a feeling of urgency to prevent attacks that could bring down a company since threats are always evolving. Threats to the armed forces pose a risk to national security, which is essential to a nation’s survival. To achieve the intended goals, the public and private sectors must work together to combat cybercrime (Claus, Gandhi, Rawnsley, & Crowe, 2015).

keeping a sense of urgency regarding the cyber threat

An intelligence officer must have a basic understanding of attacks. Cyber attackers capitalize on people vulnerabilities that are related to negligence due to lack of information. Organizations today train employees on the roles they are assigned to but rarely take the time to train on internet security. The only persons aware of the dynamics are the technology individuals that are less than 30% of the organization. Skills enhancement through techniques such as gamification would come in handy in motivating people to learn on attacks quickly. Creating an environment where everyone understands what an attack would do to an entity, what to do to prevent it and understanding that it takes team effort to accomplish this is key in getting ahead of the criminal (Adams & Makramalla, 2015).

Urgently dealing with attacks means knowing who the potential attackers. Attackers today could be persons seeking to profit quickly without ethical considerations, they could also be persons looking to sabotage an entity’s image or taking advantage of an entity in negotiation deals. It calls for research to understand what the attacker needs and why they need it through attribution. Attribution though time and resource consuming acts as a warning to potential attackers that they could get caught and should be wary of the consequences. It creates a sense of focus and ability to deal with the threat promptly. Attackers need to be made aware that there are consequences to their actions (Lasiello, 2014).

In a world where we cannot sit and confidently say that all has been done in preparing for an attack, it is fundamental to know what to do if one happens. The Homeland Security emphasizes the importance of communication in the event of an attack (DHS, 2017). Laying out plans of what people need to do in case of an attack prevents worsening the situation. As an intelligence officer, a key role is to ensure there is a team ready to respond to incidences and to manage the attack.

Oltsik (2014) advocates for policies that monitor access to internet platforms through policies that limit devices that access a given platform. Cyberattacks need to be dealt with by networking all platforms to give superior results through a central place where people can get alerts on threats. It is fundamental to centralize management of threats through experts to prevent a situation where people receive information from multiple sources causing further confusion.

Effects of technological advances on vulnerability

Technological advances are inevitable as people discover more about what can come off technology. But the progress means that we are putting more information in the cloud that is prone to access by criminals. Information is a source of wealth in the society today, and though the good people outweigh the criminals, the criminals have a way of terrorizing an entity and the country using their skills (Matei & Julan, 2015). We learn that similar viruses have the ability to have positive and negative impacts. The virus that averted a nuclear attack could be used to attack the government systems (Perez, 2014). It throws the society off balance as they cannot afford to take any virus as good in this era.

The nature of information shared among people has not been focused on informing people but creating a sense of fear. People are afraid of weapons that could get into the country causing mass destruction (Singer, 2014). It means that the perpetrator is winning by creating fear in the people and thereby diverting their attention. Ignorance has created myths through the social media that drive people, and though they have access to the internet to eradicate such misunderstanding, they are busy blowing fear out of proportion.

The society today is interconnected by devices ranging from hospitals where physicians can be alerted of changes in conditions remotely. Insurance agencies can monitor car activities remotely. The government has invested massively in making life easier for the citizens through information on water and electricity availability (Oltsik, 2014). Though these parties have information on their clients, sophisticated cybercrime enables criminals to hide identity and can thereby access information on people, company finances and government strategies putting the country at risk.

Conclusion

In an era of technology boom, complacency can be quite expensive. Urgency in dealing with attacks calls for an understanding of the extent of crime, working as a team within the organization and as a country. The internet today has opened the world creating opportunities and threats in equal measure. Thereby, the ability to urgently deal with risks related to attacks is fundamental.

References

Adams, M., & Makramalla, M. (2015). Cybersecurity skills training: An attacker-centric gamified approach. Technology Innovation Management Review, 5(1), 5-14. Retrieved from Trident Library ProQuest

Claus, B., Gandhi, R., Rawnsley, J., & Crowe, J. (2015). Using the Oldest Military Force for the Newest National Defense. Journal Of Strategic Security, 8(4), 1-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.8.4.1441

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 2017. National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. Retrieved from: http://www.dhs.gov/national-cybersecurity-communications-integration-center

Lasiello, E. (2014). Is cyber deterrence an illusory course of action? Journal of Strategic Security, 7(1), 54-67. Retrieved from Trident Library ProQuest

Matei, E., & Julan, I. C. (2015). Cyber risks and vulnerabilities, a clear and present danger. Paper presented at the International Scientific Conference “Strategies XXI”, 2 234-241. Retrieved from Trident Library ProQuest

Oltsik, J. (2014, October). The Internet of things: a CISCO and network security perspective. Retrieved from http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/solutions/industries/docs/energy/network-security-perspective.pdf 

Perez J 2014 Fukushima: NOW Cyber-Attack? STUXNET: CBS 60 Minutes. (2014, March 24). CBS this Morning. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPQWIpAG9dI

Singer, P.W. (2014, Jan 22). What Americans should fear in cyberspace. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-singer-cyber-security-20140122-story.html#ixzz2rB3lXtNM