State-sponsored cyber attacks a major worry
dubai — Attacks from state-sponsored and criminal gangs are “inevitable” in the future, particularly as organisations and countries around the GCC continue to move towards the concept of ‘smart cities’ and the Internet of Things, according to cyber security experts.
As state-sponsored hacks have become an increasing worry among Gulf countries, defending against such attacks has become a major industry in Dubai.
Speaking at a cyber security conference organised by Californiabased FireEye in Dubai on Tuesday, the firm’s vice-president for global government, Tony Cole, said the line between state-sponsored and criminal groups is increasingly “blurred”.
In many instances, Cole noted, a state may employ cyber criminals do launch attacks on their behalf, allowing them to deny involvement. In other cases, state-trained cyber experts may ply their trade for criminal groups. Cole added that the two groups can often share expertise and know-how.
A state may employ cyber criminals to launch attacks on their behalf, allowing them to deny involvement Tony Cole, FireEye’s vice-president for global government
The potentially devastated consequences of cyber attacks were starkly highlighted in 2012, when the so-called Shamoon virus struck tens of thousands of computers belonging to Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Aramco. A second version of the virus struck Saudi Arabia again in 2016.
“Destruction was what the adversary had in mind,” the AP quoted Cole as saying at the event. “These are going to get worse as we look at more and more nation states that have some capability and quite literally they don’t care how they look on the world stage.”
bernd@khaleejtimes.com
dubai — Cyber attacks are “inevitable” as governments and organisations around the world continue to adopt ‘smart’ technology and the Internet of Things, according to cybersecurity experts gathered at the ‘Cyber Defense Live’ conference in Dubai.
The event, which was organised by FireEye, a California-based cyber security firm, gathered dozens of experts, as well as representatives of government entities such as the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and Etisalat.
“Cybersecurity is one of the most important concerns of our age. We live in an era that is completely different from all in the past, as advanced technologies such as smartphones have entered various aspects of our lives,” said Majeed Al Mesmar, acting director-general of the TRA. “Smart cities and the IoT (Internet of Things) are imminent.”
“As technology has brought prosperity and progress to the lives of millions of people, it has led to serious security risks,” he added. “There is no signs these risks will diminish.”
As evidence, Al Mesmar pointed to recent statistics that indicate that cyber crimes are expected to cost the world $6 trillion by 2021, compared to $3 trillion just a year ago. Another report, from IT company Gartner, estimated that the increased risk led spending in cyber security to reach $80 billion in 2016.
Threats from all angles
Tony Cole, FireEye’s vice-president for global government, said that security breaches are “inevitable” and “will happen” as attackers grow more sophisticated and target societies in which more and more devices are interconnected.
“It’s going to get a lot worse than it is today,” he said.
As an example, Cole noted that seemingly innocent household goods such as refrigerators are now connected to the internet, and can be used by cyber attackers.
“The biggest challenge we have in that space is that everybody wants to be first to market, and get that market penetration so they can make a lot of money,” he said. “Security is not being baked into that...it’s lagging far behind it (technological advancement).”
“Think about some of the refrigerators that have had embedded tablets into them. (With) the initial ones, manufacturers didn’t even have a structure for updating their systems built in...some family might have saved for two years to buy this super cool fridge, and then the government tells them there is a majority vulnerability in that Internetenabled fridge and that (they) need to disconnect it...these companies need to understand that they have to build security structures into the products they’re selling.”
Cole noted that the awareness level of cyber security in the GCC “is rising”, which prompts organisations and governments to be aware of the scope of the threat they face in the cyber realm.
“As the awareness level rises, we see more information about breaches, simply because people are starting to look for that,” he said. “Those breaches have been here all along.”
“We’re just starting to see GCC governments really understand that this is a major threat,” he added. “We’re seeing more recognition of the activity that is already taking place here.”
bernd@khaleejtimes.com