President Obama, over the last couple of days has revisited the issue regarding cyber-attacks in the United States. This comes one year after he initiated a commission that would review cyber threats in the USA. According to president Obama, cyber-attack is among serious problems that the country is facing in this 21st century. In this respect the administration of president Obama is hoping to offer help to industries that operate in the USA so they can be protected from cyber-attacks. Already, the administration has developed necessary standards for protecting cyber-attacks in varying sectors such as financial, energy, health and transport sectors. Soon, the administration is going to launch a voluntary program that is going to encourage American industries to adopt similar standards within their practices (Zee Media Corporation Para. 2). The concern has been reduction of widespread cyber-threats in the USA while some of the private companies are opposed to the increased regulation of the government on cyber transactions. During launch of the new standards, president Obama urged congress to assist the government deter cyber-attacks and secure networks through passing of the necessary legislations.
In regard to the above matter, private industries and public industries in USA have faced increased cyber-attacks which are in the form of hacking. Attackers’ access private information from the companies and in some cases, the companies lose large sums of money through the attacks. The companies that are most affected are financial companies dealing with online transfer of funds. While such attackers are not limited to financial companies, it is high time the private companies adopted new standards the government intends to launch soon. These standards are going to reduce the extent of cyber threats in the US.
The major reason behind hacking is gaining control over a website with the aim of benefiting from it either in the form of information or money. This practice which is malicious is supposed to stop but this cannot happen unless the companies take action. For this reason and to reduce cyber threats of any kind, companies are supposed to institute necessary measures that will provide protection against such attacks. Companies might also install the necessary security features like anti-virus and fire wall. They are also supposed to exercise due diligence through mitigating risks when they identify cyber threats. Companies on this note are supposed to deter cyber-attacks and contain such attacks when they identify them. The following are some of the actions a company might take in order to protect itself from these threats. First, they are supposed to determine their security chain. This might involve evaluation of the weak points that might expose the company to such attacks. Secondly, the company is supposed to develop compliance work plan that employees are supposed to follow (Amoroso 31). Third, the company is supposed to review employee’s policies on use of electronic devices like mobile and computer devices. Fourth a company is supposed to invest in protection and security measures. Fifth, it should adopt a response plan employees are supposed to adopt in reporting such threats. Sixth, they are supposed to have a management team working on the issue. Finally, if the need arises, the company is supposed to collaborate with law enforcement agencies that deal with cyber-attacks.
According to Carr, the skills of an attacker are instrumental in determining the cyber-attack superiority. At the same time, the attacker with intelligence information regarding a government or company can carry out devastating attacks on such institutions than one who lacks intelligence information regarding the same (Carr 183). As such, the companies are supposed to secure their information and train employees on the necessary cyber security measures. This will reduce cyber-attack incidences.
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Amoroso, Edward. Cyber Attacks: Protecting National Infrastructure. Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier, 2013. Internet resource.
Carr, Jeffrey. Inside Cyber Warfare. Farnham: O’Reilly, 2012. Print.
Zee Media Corporation. White house develops guide to prevent cyber attacks. 13 February 2014. Web. 14 February 2014 <http://zeenews.india.com/news/net-news/white-house-develops-guide-to-prevent-cyberattacks_911103.html>