The war against hackers is in essence quite similar to fighting poverty – without a united front, victory is almost impossible. Fighting against hackers is like fighting a virus in your body – you kill off one, only to enable a new one to fight the next time around. Another way, my favorite way, of looking at hacks of financial systems and databases is the same way that one can look at corruption: It’ll always exist. The only question is at what level.
When you think of all the sophisticated technology that we have at our disposal today, it almost seems comical, if not ridiculous, that a group of hackers could actually out smart million and billion dollar companies and banks. I say to myself, how does Home Depot not shell out at least $1 million in order to protect itself and consumers? Why wouldn’t banks have weekly “check-ups” on their entire systems (aside from what goes on 24/7). Wouldn’t the potential harm that is eliminated outweigh the costs? When it comes to the evolution of “hacking” there are at least two simple arguments that can be made: technology is below par or the war against hackers is not winnable.
1. Technology is Below Par
We have people developing Hyperloop and we’ve got Mars One in the planning stages of projects that just a few years ago people would have said are crazy, stupid and impossible. Yet, here we are today knowing that more than likely Mars One will take place, and there will probably come a time, maybe 10 years from now – that people will be able to travel via Hyperloop. We don’t have a cure for Cancer or HIV, however those are also things that are not a direct effect from human action, rather a result of the way a human body reacts.
Hacking into a financial database is not something that “just happens” like getting infected with a virus or some other disease. A hack is a direct result of an action made by an opponent, and hence, like every other attack, you can either attack back, use pre-emptive self defense before the attack, or do nothing at all.
In the case of hacking, it seems that the best solution would differ based on each circumstance. However, why not use more firewalls on user and employee systems that would require entrance to systems, at least for employees, via fingerprint, or eye-scan? Hacking has become “everything in crime” as head man of the FBI James Comey said months ago in ’14 on 60 Minutes.
Heard about the massive hack via ATMs that used malware to effect employees’ computers that may have led to stealing from 100 different banks? The image below depicts what may be the largest cyber thefts yet.
Why are banks still using emails? If you are going to use email, and you have secure data, why don’t bank and all companies do a better job of blocking out emails that are not from inside the company, and not sent from company computers? Why not use a more secure closed network for bank employees (Slack for banks)? Why would cameras be left open? We’ve known for years that hackers use them to gain access. If we know hackers use it to gain access, why don’t we build something to defend ourselves?
I think you get the gist of what is trying to be said (it’s a little bit of a mess – it is not black and white): for as much as we’ve advanced with technology, there are still areas that we have not moved forward with, and it leaves a back door open for hackers to attack.
Saying that beating hackers is impossible is what is easy to say, but if we can put a man on the moon, create fusion power – in 20 years, or give paraplegics the ability to walk again with robotics, then why can’t million dollar companies stop hackers?
2. Stopping Hackers is Impossible
Another argument that could be made and probably the easier one too is that there is no way to stop cybercrimes like hacking, just like we can’t stop murder, rape, burglary, or various other crimes. However, we’d like to think of the tech realm as more advanced an innovative, and with that thought, say that it is possible to stop hackers – it’s just an amount of time until we create and then keep it evolving into a superior form of cyber security.
Unfortunately, this is an issue that no one startup or two can stop on their own, just like no handful of global organizations can stop poverty – this is a global issue that has to be solved with a united front. How often do you see a united front on global issues? When it comes to taxing you don’t see it. When it comes to poverty you don’t see it. So the odds are against us that there will be a united front against hacking. This is now part of nature, and all that can be done is minimize the amount of damage that is caused.
Unlike past feats that were declared as impossible, like going to the moon and other technological advancements, in the case of the war against hackers, the battle is not just technological, rather also human. In it being human, the “war” in turn brings out our human nature of greed, ego, and power, which as a result, would bring to the same result as any other fight between humans – there is no end.
Who will have the last say? Those that “run the internet”, from the cyber-skeptics to the cyber-liberals it is a decision that is not black or white and probably won’t ever be made, in which case nature will run its course. Entrepreneurs – especially Elon Musk (the most innovative technology guy over the last year) can cash in. Now is the time – we might be entering the cyber security bubble.
