Former NSA Director and Commander of US Cyber Command, Gen. Keith Alexander (Ret.) recently wrote an article about how to prevent the next Sony-like cyber attack. The retired four star general laid out the inadequacies of our current cyber defenses then argued that if we are serious about stopping future attacks then we must greatly improve our network awareness, increase public/private cooperation and overcome tensions. Insurance Journal has the full story.
Alexander also recently spoke at the Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum where he noted how technology is changing at an extremely fast rate. He stated that “the amount of unique information will double every two years.” He noted how we now have computers that can help diagnose cancer in just a few minutes rather than 30 days, “but with these great opportunities there are many vulnerabilities.”
Alexander’s response to the changing landscape of cybercrime is to come up with a new approach, which he believes can be accomplished by focusing on defensible architecture and cyber legislation. According to Alexander, “the government needs to work with industry to understand the landscape and vice versa. You can’t have Sony inciting something against North Korea. We need cyber legislation so we don’t leave these companies hanging out there.” The Insurance Information Institute has a full overview of Alexander’s speech.