The Dangers of Hacking-Is China Opening an Era of Cyber Warfare?

The cost of corporate hacking and cyber warfare is a growing problem that results in the loss of over a hundred billion dollars annually. It is difficult to measure the costs of hacking as many such attacks, and the impact are difficult to track.  The Recent theft of up to 4 million federal workers has raised concerns of government hacking and its potential impact on the nation.

Cyber warfare and corporate theft are an attractive option because it doesn’t require a direct confrontation with any entity. In the Information Age, data is the primary transactional unit of understanding and getting things done. In many cases, information determines who has the upper hand in a conflict.

Collecting mass amounts of data is not an innocent affair. If information obtained through cyber attacks is funnelled to the right people(s) and cross-examined for similarities, robust profiles of important people emerge.

Profiles can include medical records, family members, spending habits, phone numbers, relatives, assets, income and just about anything else forming a comprehensive picture of the person. With the amount of information tucked in cyber world hacking creates greater leverage against individuals who oversee national assets.

Theft of information isn’t the innocent affair of some boy-genius sitting in his parents garage testing boundaries. It is conducted by companies, sophisticated cyber teams, foreign corporations and governments for gain. Lives are ruined, and national security is jeopardized when this information is applied inappropriately to shadow activities.

Almost any country can engage in this activity, and economic might doesn't necessarily impact it. The technological abilities and resources a country puts into cyber activities may determine its sophistication level but has little effect on effectiveness. Effectiveness is more influenced by the people doing the hacking.

Updating cyber security, and how information is stored should, be an important part of corporate operations. Those organizations like government entities and large businesses have even more responsibility to protect data and track breaches. Many have no idea how much information, or what type of information was compromised, making cyber warfare the new covert challenge of the 21st Century.