Excerpt from Institutional Investor
Companies can’t set up an antimalware patch and dust off their hands. An effective cybersecurity structure needs to evolve constantly
By David X Martin
Increased connectivity means increased vulnerability. People can easily be tracked from their mobile phone or Fitbit and have not only that device but also their car, watch and TV infected.
With cloud and Internet connectivity touching everything from light bulbs, alarm systems, appliances, planes and pacemakers, the attack surface can only expand.
Digital communication will add functionality and control but also create new vulnerabilities. Just think of your E-ZPass being used by law enforcement to give you speeding tickets. Or instead of deleting or releasing stolen data, the next wave will merely change digital data to compromise its integrity. Going even further, malware could be embedded in the chips of programmable logic controllers of a warehouse conveyor belts or carousels — see Stuxnet virus — that could disrupt an entire supply chain.
The increased connectivity means it’s time for a new approach to combating cyberthreats.