Our nation's growing cyber crisis

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/193885-our-nations-growing-cyber-crisis

While much of the nation focused on the technical glitches that rendered
the healthcare.gov website incapable of handling the predicted volume of
transactions, you may have also noticed various headlines about the same
systems’ cyber security flaws. It’s hard to imagine a more compelling
warning to our national leaders that cyber security must be considered in
everything we do – from health care and business to education and workforce
development.

The Internet age has opened up a new world of digital possibilities for all
generations – our concept of the Internet as a destination is rapidly
transforming into an “Internet of things,” where each person, place,
organization and thing is interconnected and therefore inseparable in terms
of opportunity and collective security – for better or worse.  We have
become familiar with a new crop of unwelcomed terms and phrases: social
engineering, phishing attacks, online identity theft and credit card fraud,
Trojans, zero-day attacks, worms, viruses, malware, and an assortment of
other online threats. Such a growing list of unseen dangers cries out for
an educational curriculum that includes cyber safety.

We need to do a better job of ensuring the technology we entrust to our
younger generations is not jeopardizing their security. As a technology
dependent  generation  emerges around us, we must at the very least equip
our youth with a strong set of skills and habits to reduce risks in the
cyber domain. A recent study of young adults conducted by Zogby Analytics
reveals some risky cyber behaviors among our Facebook generation.
Two-thirds of respondents said they have connected to public wireless
networks and nearly half have used a USB device given to them by someone
else. This apparent lack of awareness – or perhaps resignation – creates an
unnecessary degree of vulnerability for a generation that finds itself
connected and at risk from the moment they power up their smart devices
each morning.

The same survey uncovered yet another cyber challenge to ponder – an
alarming lack of cyber career guidance. For example, 82 percent of those
surveyed indicated no one in their high school ever mentioned the idea of a
career in cyber security. Consider this in light of the assessment of
General Michael Flynn, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, who
told the third annual Cybersecurity Symposium at the University of Rhode
Island that for every person working in military cybersecurity today, “we
need 28 more.” While this is surely an alarming statistic that demonstrates
a great need, it represents an amazing opportunity for the millennial
generation. In fact, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects that
network systems and information security professionals can expect job
opportunities to grow by 53 percent through 2018.

While heated debates and lively discussions among leaders, educators,
students and parents within our communities are inevitable in solving the
growing cyber crisis before us, we must not let that stop us from moving
forward expeditiously with the development of strong educational programs
that will maintain and extend our nation’s leadership in global cyberspace.
We must empower young Americans to safely take advantage of the
opportunities our highly connected digital world affords us. A strong
cybercitizenry begins with cyber education and workforce development, and
cooperation from community, educational, business and congressional leaders
on that front is critical to our collective success both today and tomorrow.

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