U.S. Getting Worse at Cyber Attack Defense
When I made mistakes as a kid – and I made my share of them, believe me – I was taught to learn from those errors. Everybody makes them, I was told, but the key is to figure out why the mistake was made and how I could improve in that area.
Sounds pretty basic, right?
But 2½ years after the worst cyber security breach in U.S. history – one that allowed the theft by China of personal information belonging to some 25 million U.S. government employees – it doesn’t look like we’ve learned anything.
The Situation Is Worsening
According to a recent report from the Inspector General, the White House Office of Personnel Management is actually getting worse in its efforts to provide adequate defenses against additional cyber intrusions.
The report refers to a “significant regression” in complying with information security requirements. For one thing, the agency is failing to check security controls on computer systems to make sure they are adequate.
And no wonder. The White House Office of Personnel Management staff turnover rate in sensitive information-security jobs is alarmingly high, including five different Chief Information Officers in three years.
A variety of longstanding security weaknesses are being ignored by the agency, as are a number of security recommendations that were made by Inspector General reports even BEFORE the major security hack.
Tell Them, Don’t Ask Them!
The report makes 26 recommendations on how to fix the problems, including many that are repeats from previous suggestions.
It sounds to me like these “recommendations” and “suggestions” should be changed to “orders.”
In the 21st century, cyber attacks can be just as devastating as physical attacks. The U.S. should be No. 1 in the world in cyber security, but it looks like we’ve got a ways to go to get there.
When you leave the front door open, don’t be surprise when you find that you have been robbed and they took everything you own. So it is with your computer security, your debt and credit cards. When corporations want to make it easier for them to get into your accounts, be it your bank account, social media account, or corporate account, it is up to you to be vigilant; it is after all, your privacy at stake.
How many times have you been asked by Google or Microsoft or some other web site to allow them to have access to your various accounts on social media when you wish to add your comment to their blog? For that reason I refuse to create a trail that be follow. Do you realize that after you give these entities permission to snoop on your other accounts they can turn this information over to the government or another company that can retrace your steps? It is like you talking to someone only to have them record your conversation and broadcast it to the whole world to hear.
Look people, you need to stand up for your rights for privacy. You can not allow any corporation, (even social media), get away with circumventing your rights to privacy. Get mad! Make demands! refuse to play their games! If you have to drop their services like a hot rock. This will hurt them where it hurts the most in their pocketbook. A decrease is subscriptions means a decrease is revenue.
This also means that the US Government needs to get off their fat butts and start preventing if not taking precautions against attack to our internet systems, Government, public and private. And any foreign government that practices this type of cyber attacks need to be held accountable and retaliation MUST BE SWIFT and DEVASTATING. Most of the countries that have cyber attacked this country in truth can not stand retaliation of any kind and we must take advantage of it. (Steal from me, I will not only steal from you but make you very sorry that you stole from me in the first place.)
What do you expect government indoctrimation centers (public schools) don’t educate they dumb our youth down to install fascism.