The Real Threat Of Cyberterrorism

Cyberterrorism: just how real is the threat? When confronted with the idea of cyberterrorism, much of the population would shrug. How much would a large scale disruption of computer networks or a malware attack on a government actually affect the average person’s life or livelihood? Is cyberterrorism really an imminent threat? The issue lies with the terrorism part of the word. When compared to the al-Qaeda attack in Burkina Faso, the suicide bombings in Iraq, the Paris attacks, the Brussels bombings, the nightclub shooting in Orlando or any number of atrocities motivated by ideology the world over, cyberterrorism just doesn’t seem to rank. But the threats presented by cyberterrorism both present and future are real, and they’re certainly alarming. As application security provider Checkmarx states, there is no one solution to guarding against cyberterrorism. With individuals, businesses, organizations, governments and beyond all needing protection against ideologically-motivated attacks and breaches, the scope is simply too huge. However, as Checkmarx also points out, secured websites, applications and infrastructure is rooted in secure application development that starts at the beginning of coding. Even if you think your organization would never be a target of a cyberterrorism attack, take a lesson from all of the organizations that were affected by data breaches that ultimately landed their users on a list of ISIS targets. Your users are your responsibility, and whether you’re talking hackers or terrorists, it’s a responsibility that can’t be anything other than the highest priority. Continue reading this article on Information Security Buzz.