In Part One, I talked about the economics of the cyber attacks and how by not paying the ransom we can change the narrative for the criminals. Cyber Attacks do not have to be a zero-sum engagement. Today I wanted to conclude this by discussing Rohit Ghai’s other points in his RSA keynote speech. He had two other major points that I believe have great merit: We need to reorganize our defenses and rethink our culture. What do these mean? Let’s explore
When we think about the attackers and how their success is garnered, we often place them on a sort of pedestal and discuss how they must be better at this than we are – maybe the criminals are better technologists, maybe they have more processing power or maybe they are better programmers. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. More cyber criminals today are script kiddies. The only “skill” they have learned is how to access the Dark Web and exchange bitcoin for malicious software. The true “geniuses” of malware remain shrouded behind their dark web marketplaces, making money from this new generation of clicking criminals. They aren’t better than us – they are more organized. They have a hierarchy that is determined to make money at your expense. We have to become more organized and more interconnected from an information sharing standpoint.
The other point is even more important and more accessible to us. We have to rethink the Cyber Security culture. I am often approached by people asking me “How Do I get into Cyber Security? I do not have a technical degree.” They are somewhat shocked when i tell them, the technical degree is not as important as certifications and ability (and potential). When i would speak at the local colleges, I did not stop my search at the Computer Science College, I would often take the conversation into the MIS field or even into business administration. Cyber Security is a broad field with many places for different skill sets. While there is a need for STEM-type workers, there is also a need for people with heart and potential from every field. In the immortal words of Red Leader, “Pick Up Your Visual Scanning.” Look around us and see those who want to get in the fight and offer yourself as a mentor. You may be amazed how someone with heart and potential can be a better worker than the one with all the degrees.