Cybersecurity Program Development for Business

APPENDIXClear and Present Danger

In early 2017, I wrote an editorial titled “Clear and Present Danger” for the website “From CEO to CEO.” It presented my thinking on cybersecurity at the nation‐state level.

On December 13, 2016, the New York Times published a feature article titled “The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.” In it Eric Lipton, David Sanger, and Scott Shane do an excellent job in framing in detail the recent state‐sponsored cyberattack against U.S. interests. But the story doesn't end there.

Russia is not alone in excelling at cyberwarfare. Many nation‐states see this as the new “arms race.” They believe, rightly so, that this is a race they can win. North Korea, Iran, and China have demonstrated their capabilities time and again. So have the United States and Israel. There is little doubt that practically every country is actively participating in the development, management, and deployment of cyberwarfare infrastructure. They all are, and they are building massive defensive and offensive cyberwarfare capabilities. Moreover, they are “in it to win it,” and they think they can.

What has made Russia's cyberattack particularly egregious is not that it is the first, but that it is a blatant, in‐your‐face show of power, ridiculing the last superpower standing. What makes it particularly deadly is that it is coupled with Russia's deep scholarship in propaganda. I have read recent interviews from officials downplaying and demeaning Russian propaganda ...