We asked our readersunhackable internetThink about what you would do if you woke up one morning and found yourself out of money. Last week, that question became frighteningly real.
20,000 customers I logged on and verified that I had that money in the following account bank of america It was gone.
One account holder expressed this while staring at a $0 account balance: “It makes my heart stop.” for a moment. Was her money really gone? She said as the day progressed, she heard little about the “glitch” until Bank of America told her “some customers were experiencing issues.” The problem was not resolved until that night.
Events like this are canaries in the cyber coal mine. The U.S. banking system is one of the nation's most secure critical infrastructures, second only to national defense. It has exemplary regulations; industry standardis carried out regularly tabletop exercises And we are building redundancy into our systems in case of catastrophic cyber events.
However, all of these defenses and precautions must work in an insecure virtual environment that does not include any of the normal protections that exist in the real world.
First responders know what to do and how to work together when a fire, flood, or earthquake occurs. But do you know who to call when your computer screen goes blank or your account balance drops to $0? Unlike national defense, cyberspace is open to all businesses and individual users. must protect their own space.
With that in mind, you can put all your sensitive data and anything of value onto a network that is unsafe, cannot retaliate if attacked, and ultimately encourages cybercriminals to act because they can be discovered and prosecuted. What's the point in constantly loading every corner? Is it something you can ignore? Is there anyone who lives in a city with these characteristics?
Somehow, online convenience and social engagement have become more important than security and privacy.
People think the government is protecting us from cyber disasters. After all, everything is regulated in the analog world. Well, in cyberspace no one is watching us and no one can guarantee our safety. Even if businesses have strong defenses in place, their defenses can become ineffective as users ignore digital hygiene.
At its most cynical, cyberspace has become a virtual ecosystem that makes us more accessible to hackers, criminals, and rogue states.
We must ignore for now who is to blame for this predicament and start solving the problem before we are plunged into the next level of cyber hell. I would like to start here.
First, nothing creates disorder like anonymity. Living in a digital world where no one has to identify themselves is imprudent. Democracies must work together to reshape cyberspace so that all users are required to show identification, just as they would when traveling in the real world. Rogue states and others who refuse to abide by these rules should be denied access.
Second, no civilized society can function without some form of governance. Failure to create or follow rules has consequences in real life, and it should be the same in cyberspace. The wild west days of the internet were fun in the days of video games and live cams, but we're long past those heady days.
Third, without coercion, only responsible people will act responsibly. Currently, there are no cyber police or 800 numbers you can call to stop, track, or arrest cyber robbers. Without an accessible, ubiquitous, and effective cyber police force, we will remain vulnerable to a growing population of online hackers and criminals around the world.
Finally, any work you do online that requires increased security should be done through a secure private network (“SPN”) that maintains a high level of security and authentication. Those who do not want to live by the rules of those networks should be denied access or subject to a kill switch that ends their virtual lives.
These small steps can be very helpful, but even that is unlikely to happen. Our legislators have little understanding of technology and the risks it creates. And many rely on technology to support their campaigns. FTX's Sam Bankman Freed reportedly said: 100 million dollars Donated to his campaign to protect his political profile.
Without protective laws, strong regulations, cyber police, better security, and tech-savvy users, it seems inevitable that you will wake up one day with a zero balance. The gut punch we would feel when that happens might cause us to take action, but by then it's too late.
Thomas P. Vartanian is Executive Director of the Financial Technology & Cybersecurity Center. He is the author of “The Unhackable Internet.”
