Critical Infrastructures Under Constant Attack

McAfee just released a commissioned report, written by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, that shows what we’ve known to be true for a long time. Critical infrastructures ranging from electrical grids, to oil production facilities to telecommunications and transportation networks are under constant attack from cybercriminals. The new report reveals the cost and scale of those attacks.

The techniques used in Operation Aurora, are similar to the techniques we see being used to attack critical infrastructures. The fact is, we’re seeing some of the most elaborate attacks that we have ever seen on the commercial sector.

Keep in mind the private sector owns and operates 85% of the world’s critical infrastructures. One of the conclusions of the report is that if the world’s critical infrastructures go down, it won’t just impact the organizations that were targeted. It will affect many businesses and individuals, who rely on those systems every day. An attack on these systems could cause widespread economic disruptions, environmental disasters, loss of property and even loss of life.

This is compounded by the fact that many SCADA systems are in a state of system decay since nobody wants to apply security technologies or patches for fear of impacting the system. Outdate unprotected systems combined with technically sophisticated adversaries is a recipe for disaster.

Our CEO Dave DeWalt is at the World Economic Forum this week, speaking to world leaders about the importance of protecting these infrastructures, and the best practices for doing so. I hope they will listen, and that leaders worldwide will band together to shore up these systems.

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