When sound was added to film between World War I and World War II, newsreels playing in movie theaters vividly portrayed the sights and sounds of American foreign battlefields, combat-footage, and invasions. We’ve become accustomed to relying on these images and videos in our television and print news media, to stay informed on war-related current affairs. However, today we are faced with a different kind of war. A war that takes place behind-the-scenes. A war that can’t be seen. That’s because today the United States is at war in cyberspace.
The San Antonia Business Journal reports that thousands of attacks are being launched everyday against US businesses by nation-states like China, Russia and Iran. According to the article, if these attacks are successful, they have the potential of creating chaos in our economy.
While the article notes that the United States has caught or deflected most of these attacks before they could cause any harm, when individual companies are attacked, will they be able to protect against organized attacks by nation-states? Not according to the article.
So what should we do? The article quoted solutions suggested by US Representative Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is pushing for more sharing of information between government and private industry. As for Congressional plans, the article mentioned that the House has passed bi-partisan legislation that according to Representative Rogers, would establish rules for private industry and governments to share information on cyber threats.
There seems to be one message that is popping up again and again concerning the hidden war in cyberspace: the need for a stronger relationship between government and private industry. To read more, here is the full article.
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