I made the mistake of watching Leave the World Behind earlier this week. To say the movie is about a cyberattack is a stretch, but it is a “think” piece about human behavior. And even though I’d give the movie a low rating, I will admit that the greater theme of the film continues to reverberate through many of this week’s headlines. Are we prepared for a major threat that could completely disrupt our way of life? How would we respond both collectively and individually?
Geopolitical tensions are mounting, and Tuesday’s attack on Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile network operator, which was reportedly the most sizable cyberattack since Russia invaded the country in early 2022, disrupted mobile services to more than half of Ukraine’s population. Meanwhile, The Washington Post is reporting that China’s cyber army is invading critical US services, and Taiwan is calling on the US to help proactively bolster its cyber defenses to protect against potential digital assaults from China. Many want to sound the alarm bells.
Yet, there is some good news coming out of Southeast Asia. Since Al Jazeera first reported on its months-long investigation into Cambodia’s cyber-slaves, the human trafficking scandal in Southeast Asia has expanded its geographical footprint. Fortunately, Interpol announced a coordinated effort among more than two dozen Asian countries, dubbed Operation Storm Makers II, in its quest to dismantle cyber-fraud operations engaging in human trafficking. The operation resulted in 281 arrests and 149 victims being rescued.
Stories like these from Interpol speak to The Art of Possible and offer hope for a more secure future. We hope that you will join us at RSA Conference 2024 in San Francisco May 6-9 to help shape the future together.
Now let’s look at what else made industry headlines this week.
Dec. 15: Given the rapidly changing threat landscape, Singapore is making amends to its 2018 Cybersecurity Act.
Dec. 15: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected a Coinbase petition requesting tailored regulations for cryptocurrencies.
Dec. 13: The Record reported, “A Russian national suspected of possessing thousands of dollars stolen from the French victims of Hive ransomware was arrested in Paris last week.”
Dec. 13: A report published by the UK’s National Security Strategy Joint Committee warned that the government is unprepared for a ransomware attack on the country’s critical national infrastructure.
Dec. 13: According to Bleeping Computer, “A new cybercrime marketplace, OLVX, has emerged and is quickly gaining new customers looking to purchase tools to conduct online fraud and cyberattacks.”
Dec. 12: Dan Ives, Wedbush Managing Director, Equity Research told Fox Business, “We are seeing a massive increase in spending that’s going to come out of the beltway…given the threat level the need for cybersecurity is nothing like we’ve seen before.”
Dec. 12: The White House announced the confirmation of Mr. Harry Coker Jr. to be the new National Cyber Director.
Dec. 12: Recent attacks on critical infrastructure, particularly power and water plants, have fomented great concerns that the US is not prepared.
Dec. 12: “I can’t emphasize enough how much the most important thing to do is close our doors and lock our windows,” Ann Neuburger told Bloomberg Television in an interview discussion the mounting cyberthreats the US is facing.