Originally published on Tripwire, April 10, 2017
In any conflict, humans are impacted. In conflict, the best scenario is that the individual leaves unscathed and perhaps even unaware of what could have been their misfortune, whereas in the worst of cases – such as kinetic warfare – the impact can be the ultimate price: loss of life.
There is also a cruel truth of conflict that often gets looked over: those who survive may be living a hell on earth as they piece together what little they have left to move on. Instead of dying immediately, they may be bled to death over time. Herman Kahn’s book, On Thermonuclear War, in a way, describes such scenarios.
If this introduction seems a bit too grim for a cybersecurity conversation to you, then perhaps you are not looking into the cybersecurity question deep enough. By no means is this fear-mongering on my part, though I do believe we are taking part in a “slow bleed” right now. More succinctly, I am trying to illustrate the point that the cybersecurity challenge has a human element to it, which has traditionally been overlooked.
Why?
Perhaps part of the reasons is because we have put so much faith in our technological abilities and have generally looked at the cybersecurity challenge as a technical problem to be solved (it’s not). Similarly, there is an emotional element that has been understudied, leaving many of us “untouched” by cyber effects.
Let me ask you: what is the difference between being pickpocketed for the cash on you versus that same amount of money being stolen from your bank account through cybercrime?