‘The World is Already Immersed in a Cyber Cold War’
Palo Alto Networks warns of ‘an active conflict in which nation states launch digital attacks to destabilise economies, sabotage infrastructure and gain strategic advantages’.
Following the ‘traditional’ Cold War comes the cyber Cold War. This new confrontation is already a reality, according to security experts.
Palo Alto Networks assures we are immersed in what could be defined as ‘an active conflict in which nation states launch digital attacks to destabilise economies, sabotage infrastructure and gain strategic advantages’ and in which there is ‘constant aggression, with low visibility but growing impact’.
In this scenario, attacks extend beyond the acquisition of information; they also seek to disrupt operations in key sectors.
Added to this is the fact that states are allegedly collaborating with criminal groups, which makes it easier to cover up who is behind the attacks while complicating their detection.
To help organisations prepare for this era of cyber cold war, Palo Alto Networks offers a series of practical recommendations.
First and foremost would be to ‘integrate geopolitical risk into business continuity planning’, especially when the company works with data and infrastructure ‘that crosses borders’.
‘Moving from perimeter security to identity-based defence powered by artificial intelligence’ is another measure that helps to contain the threat.
Given that attackers hide and act quickly, aided by technological advances, the way to defend and respond at the same pace is to also resort to innovation.
The third step is to ‘invest in cloud security with a global vision,’ because the enemy will use ‘any error, misconfiguration or delay in detection, regardless of technical or legal location.’
Fourth, it is advisable to ‘operationalise threat intelligence’ and promote a ‘continuous flow of useful intelligence.’ This includes the involvement of boards of directors and executive committees.
Finally, Palo Alto Networks encourages ‘rethinking the role of technology leaders’ so that figures such as the CIO and CISO go beyond purely technical tasks.
It also warns that the cyber cold war is a threat to all organisations due to the expansion of the attack surface in the digital age.
