Cyber surpasses terrorism as number one threat in the US

Reuters report that cyber security issues have surpassed terrorism as the number one concern of the intelligence agencies in the US:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/12/us-usa-threats-idUKBRE92B0LS20130312

This comes on the back of the recent cyber security executive order, and lengthy list of US companies coming forward to admit they have been compromised by unknown (though strongly implied to be Chinese) actors.

This is not just a US problem. Whilst the US may be a key strategic target for Chinese intelligence gathering, the nature of the targeted companies (the New York Times, Washington Post, Apple, Microsoft, Evernote, Facebook and more) demonstrates that any organisation can be targeted, often for reasons that are likely to remain opaque.

It is clear that security is an issue that cannot be ignored. Yet, these attacks are not magic. Whilst technical details are often sparse, they will rely on common technologies, and well understood methodologies. Attackers can only exploit the technology used in an organisation – they cannot introduce their own.

The first step to good security is understanding what you have and how you use it.