US, South Korea hit with July 4 surprise: cybersecurity attacks

We all know that a cybersecurity attack isn’t a matter of if. It’s a matter of when. That moment has arrived. Government and private sector websites in South Korea and the United States were hit with a series of denial-of-service attacks over the last few days. Such attacks, which usually manifest themselves as simultaneous electronic requests for data from thousands of computers, are a persistent problem rather than an outright threat. However, these particular attacks, which experts say may have come courtesy of North Korea, signal a shift. Money quote from the Financial Times:

“… officials privately acknowledged that the assaults, which began over the July 4 holiday in the US, were among the longest and most effective to date. For US government sites to go down so hard for so long is almost unprecedented.”

Meanwhile, the call for a cybersecurity czar is growing. “In the final analysis, we’re running out of time,” says CSO.

Cybersecurity: How you can help

In the midst of these attacks, now’s as good a time as any to consider your role in the cybersecurity solution. For ideas, check out these recent pieces:

Mark Gerencser offers his take on how to create a megacommunity for cybersecurity. Industry leaders offer nine ideas on where the government contracting community can fit into future cybersecurity efforts. And SRA offers a three-point checklist on how you can strengthen your company’s cybersecurity posture.

How can a public-private partnership best prevent future cybersecurity attacks? Share your comments here.

Posted by Staff Writer on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009. Filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry