The Increasing Threat of Cyber Attacks, an Introduction
Hello! My name is Christopher Philips and I’m currently a senior at the University at Buffalo studying mathematics. I’ve recently spent a few months working at a small defense contractor working to update their cyber security measures from hardly meeting the basic NIST requirements to the new CMMC level 4 standards. I plan on exploring the possible effects of the new cyber attacks and the subsequent cyber defense, better known as cyber security.
Staying safe online has been a thing since computer use was popularized. Dodging suspicious links and keeping your password safe has usually been enough. Even if something goes wrong, removing a virus or calling the bank isn't too difficult, but when it comes to the workplace, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
There's no doubt that most businesses have something to lose from being broken into physically, but many ignore the harm that can be done from a cyber attack. Company files can be held for ransom, locking the business down, or customer information could be stolen, forever losing their trust. Even these are relatively benign examples compared to government and military secrets being stolen. Keeping important classified information private from our international rivals is becoming more and more difficult.
This changing landscape brings a host of questions. Does this affect me and my business? How does this affect me if I don't own a business? Is cyberwarfare strictly a bad thing? These questions among many others are areas I will aim to answer in the future.