On April 12th, 2012, William Jackson wrote for Government Computer News on intellectual property threat. The article cited Toomas Hendrik, Estonia's president, as saying that cyberattacks cause the most damage through intellectual property (IP) theft. In this sense, the Estonian president believes that "the military side of things" is getting too much attention when the economy is suffering the most.
Case in point, IP is the "economic engine of Western nations." The GCN article cited a U.S. Commerce Dept. report that explained that IP accounts for roughly 40 million jobs, 19% of U.S. employment, and 35% of U.S. GDP in 2010. That's huge. That IP, our economic engine, is being stolen right out from under us.
You can find the GCN source article here.
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Along the same lines, Mark Rockwell reported for Government Security News on an increase in cyberattacks on financial firms. According to the article, banks and financial firms have suffered a 3,000% increase in cyberattacks as opposed to the fourth quarter of 2011. China remains the #1 source of attacks.
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