This has been a cruel summer of cyber-attacks against American companies. Home Depot is the latest business to suffer a possible data breach, and news reports suggest that the same hackers behind the Target security breach could be to blame. The Supervalu grocery store chain recently disclosed that they had suffered a “criminal intrusion” affecting credit- and debit-card processing technology at some 200 stores across several states. Any customer who paid with a card at one of these stores between June 22 and July 17 could potentially have had their account numbers and other information stolen by hackers.
On an even larger scale, Community Health Systems, one of the largest hospital administration firms in the nation, revealed that the personal information on 4.5 million of their patients had been stolen by Chinese hackers in cyber-raids conducted in April and June. The digital bandits made off with names, addresses, telephone numbers and even Social Security numbers – blueprints for total identity theft. The hackers themselves have not been identified, but the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent indictment of five members of the People’s Liberation Army’s elite “hacker squad” raises the significant question of potential government involvement.
The data breaches at Supervalu and Community Health – along with notable attacks against Target and elsewhere – are painful reminders of how seriously companies must take the safeguarding of their digital assets. Every firm, no matter how large or small, would benefit from a cybersecurity strategy that is integrated at all levels of the business. These are not just the concerns of the information technology (IT) staff. All personnel, from the Board of Directors to C-suite executives to interns, must be educated and invested in efforts to maintain the company’s cybersecurity apparatus.
Even more important, government and the business community must work together and combine their forces in order to combat cyber threats. While the United States is making great strides in this area, with groups like the Security Innovation Network (SINET) working to bring the public and private sectors together, significant innovations are taking place elsewhere in the world. One country at the forefront of cybersecurity development – especially when it comes to public-private partnerships – is the United Arab Emirates.
This fall, two major conferences will take place in Abu Dhabi showcasing the interrelationships between the government, business and military sectors that are so important to crafting and maintaining strong cybersecurity networks.
In September, the Caxton Group will host the 2014 ICS Cyber Defense for Energy and Utilities, a three-day “interactive technology workshop.” Targeting the energy industry – obviously of great importance to the UAE, the entire Gulf region and, indeed, the world – Caxton’s conference focuses on the strengthening of Information Control Systems (ICS). Presenting a master class on this topic is Kevin Cardwell, a former software analyst for the U.S. Navy who has consulted on cybersecurity all over the world. Other speakers include an expert on digital security for oil and gas fields, and information technology specialists from the UAE government and the University of Dubai.
Experts will also gather in November at the second annual Gulf International Cyber Security Symposium, organized by the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA), a Dubai-based think tank. This conference is notable for the sizable participation of the military – it is supported by the UAE Ministry of Defense and is being held at the Armed Forces Officers’ Club in Abu Dhabi. The first of these symposia, held in 2012, attracted such notable speakers as former head of U.S. Central Command General John Abizaid and former United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defense John Reid. This year’s conference is scheduled to include such discussions as “Protecting Critical Sectors from Cyber Threats – The Role of Government, Industry, and Academia.”
By bringing together professionals, experts and officials from many different sectors in and out of government, groups like Caxton and INEGMA use conferences such as these to develop best-practices and foster innovation. In Abu Dhabi, cybersecurity specialists from governments and businesses around the world are uniting to fight a truly global threat. We in the United States should follow this example. Protection of American companies digital assets – and their customers’ personal information – will depend on it.
