In a Russian Conflict: Cybersecurity another Dimension of Attack

(((4/19 update below)))

In that cybersecurity is another Dimension of attack  (versus Dimensions: Land, Air, Sea, and Space) how would we be affected by this dimension?

In Land one sees their foe most of the time, and if the enemy wants to take your stuff they have to physically take it.  (Or they try and send munitions instead via Artillery with limited range).

In Air one can take troops up and over your land and enemy land forces to drop them and take stuff. Munitions are able to  drop from remote areas, but one has to send missiles and airplanes where radar can see them.

In Sea one can move around with ships or submarines to drop people to take stuff. The munitions are sent via devices as well which are physical.

Space is also a dimension which although in a unique area, is also a physical dimension with physical munitions.

In Cyber how do you know if the enemy is not already in your  systems.  There is no need for enemy soldiers to leave their homes or their barracks, they can attack your infrastructure without moving. Control of your computers can be done automatically and it can look like a third party attacked.  Cyber has an electronic dimension so the fact that it is not as physical “or real” has made understanding this dimension more difficult for some.

So what does this mean? It means if you understand how to navigate a command line or can read custom code you can understand this phenomenon (Cyberwar) in ways a non speaker is not capable:

Maybe this analogy will help:

You know in Physics there is Height, width, and length?

What about the fourth dimension(and not time) :

It is hard for us 3D people to think 4D.  So that seems to be the same for people who do not live in Cyber, they just DO NOT get the details!!!   It does not matter how much I try to explain the details, 4D is too much of a leap for some.

 

So I think Cyber is just too difficult or maybe a better word is ‘strange‘ of a concept for many people.

 

****UPDATED 4/19 12pm Central******

An interesting story about Russia attacking US and UK routers…

https://mashable.com/2018/04/17/russian-router-warning-us-uk/#slGg.DbuWsqF

Remember my post on 3/13/18?  http://oversitesentry.com/replace-your-wi-fi-router-if-2yr-old/

some good quotes from the mashable article:

‘These “cyber actors” are identifying vulnerable devices to break into, where they can extract device configurations, harvest login details, and control the traffic that goes through the router.’

 

A quick review from my post  — you can’t patch older than 2 years routers, as they are not being patched by manufacturers.

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The compliance departments are reverse engineering the effects of a breach and Cyber understanding.   It is too difficult to decipher code, so we say don’t perform CC processing without encryption.  We don’t say what the encryption is and how it should be sent. There are many more pitfalls for a manager without technical knowledge.

If Hackers can steal data of your prized customers with a thermometer, then what else can they do?

So what to do? Create Cyber audits to review the IT world in your entity. Otherwise you will see headlines that you will not like.

Contact Us to discuss

 

 

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