Page 7 - Cyberattacks and Cyberscams: Is There an End in Sight?

Cyberdefense

Cyberscams and ransomware attacks offer criminals easy and re-
liable profi ts. Cybertechnology also gives nation-states a relatively
low-cost way to spy on or harm adversaries. To deter scams and
attacks, defenders try to raise the costs and lower the expected
payoffs of cyberaggressions. Better collaboration between the
private and public sectors could help with that. Increased coop-
eration among nation-states can make the payoffs of cyberag-
gression less dependable.
Even the best defense will not eradicate cyberassaults. Indi-
viduals, organizations, and governments need to build resilience.
Procedures that mitigate damage, as well as response plans that
allow for quicker recovery, can help. If signifi cant steps to improve
cybersecurity are not taken, experts
warn, future July 4 explosions may not
be fi reworks. “I think it’s more likely . . .
Every time another person con- if we end up in a war, a real
nects a thermostat, doorbell, or baby shooting war with a major
monitor to the internet, the attack sur- power, it’s going to be as
face grows. A future of autonomous a consequence of a cyber
vehicles and smart cities could dras- breach of great conse-
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tically increase vulnerabilities. Cyber- quence.”
security experts Richard A. Clarke —President Joe Biden
and Robert K. Knake, whose com-
bined experience includes advising
three American presidents, believe cyberattacks will never end
completely. “The goal is to achieve a state of ongoing improve-
ment, where systems are continually being made more secure
and the work of attacking these systems is harder, takes longer,
and comes with greater risk of failure and punishment.” Al-
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though cyberscams and cyberattacks may be inevitable, mak-
ing scams and attacks more costly to launch and the proceeds
less certain will help reduce their number. Building resilience will
make them hurt less.

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