Cybersecurity and National Defense
These are concerns central to this digital century: technological passion must go with an eye on the impact it has on our lives.
First, let us explain what is cyber security. The technique of preventing systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks is called cybersecurity. Basically, cyber-attacks are made to access, alter, destroy sensitive information, extort users’ money, or disrupt regular business procedures.
Development of cyber threats
Understanding what cybersecurity means, we can now look at how cyber threats have changed over the years. Initially, they were mostly random and unsophisticated.
However, with the advancement of technology, so have the threats. Nowadays, cyber-attacks are normally very sophisticated and highly coordinated, usually backed by nation-states or organized criminal groups.
Why is Cybersecurity important for national defense?
It explains why cybersecurity is essential to national defense with this background.
Governments keep vast amounts of sensitive data, which includes military secrets and personal information about citizens. Cybersecurity professionals take a role in protecting it from falling into wrong hands.
Not only is digital dependency increasing in the case of national infrastructure, such as power grids, water supplies, and communication networks, but the successful cyberattack against these systems can have unbearable consequences.
Modern military operations are based on technology. All devices, starting from communication systems to weapons, are interconnected. To protect the people at the borders, the systems must be secure.
Examples of cyber threats in reality
This need for cyber-security can be explained much better with the help of some examples of cyber threats in real life that have affected national security.
1. WannaCry ransomware attack
One of the most highlighted cases was when, in 2017, a ransomware attack called WannaCry swept more than hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide, including those of critical information infrastructure.
The ransomware encrypted data and demanded ransom payments in Bitcoin, which it did by first exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. Notably, WannaCry hit the UK’s National Health Service, which caused a great deal of disruption to health service activities. With critical systems rendered inoperable, hospitals had to cancel appointments and operations, and patients were turned away.
It also hit Spain’s telecommunications giant Telefónica, Deutsche Bahn of Germany, and the interior ministry of Russia. This massive attack on healthcare and such other vital services made vivid the scenario of such attacks paralyzing the national defense mechanisms and response to emergencies, putting forward imperatively the strong cybersecurity in protecting critical infrastructures.
2. Stuxnet worm
Another example is that of the Stuxnet worm, a cyber weapon reportedly developed by the United States and Israel to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program. Stuxnet was directed at the so-called supervisory control and data acquisition systems, which remotely controlled industrial processes.
It is believed to have destroyed something on the order of a fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges, spinning them all wildly out of control while all the parameters appeared normal to the operators. It was a historic moment in the annals of cybersecurity, demonstrating how cyber warfare could become a tool in national defense.
Stuxnet delayed, therefore, the nuclear capability of Iran, enhancing national and international security by impairing its nuclear capability.
Wake on, call!
These high-profile incidents show a focusing at national level on the cyber-security, though it is also about personal experiences.
Being passionate about technology, we should get to see first-hand why cybersecurity is important. I remember an incident when a small business of a friend became the target of a cyber attack. In a way, it was an eye-opener for everybody in the circle to realize just how vulnerable one can be. The incident compelled me to delve deeper into the world of cybersecurity, to know more about measures and practices that can keep such threats at bay.
Key prevention because ‘prevention is better than cure’:
After getting through experiences and examples, obviously certain key steps can improve cybersecurity. And being a citizen it is our moral responsibility to protect our nation from cyber threats.
- Awareness among people and organisations regarding risks and measures to protect
- Robust policies and laws related to cybersecurity to be implemented
- Sophisticated technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in threat detection and response
- Establish international cooperation in information sharing and strategies globally
- In winding up, no doubt it remains that in the digital age, cybersecurity is crucial for national defense. Just as technology continues to change so are the threats we face. Staying informed, we would better protect our nations against cyber threats.
This is an extremely vast and complex subject, but I hope this overview shall at least convey the basic idea of the importance of cybersecurity in national defense.
Let’s continue and keep working together for a safer digital world.
