Saturday, October 24, 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. Seventy years ago, fifty-one nations saw the need to prevent us from using our ability to destroy each other. It was not coincidental that the creation of the UN followed closely on the deployment of a weapon capable of destroying the planet – the Atomic Bomb. Today the United Nations numbers one hundred ninety two of the world’s one hundred ninety seven nations. Only the Vatican has deliberately chosen to be a non-member opting instead for official observer status.
On Saturday, October 24th I found myself thinking about the UN, its founding following the atomic realities of World War II, our current world, and the emerging but as yet unknown threats we face. Nuclear Armageddon will always be a possibility but quieter insidious threats also abound. Nowhere are these more prevalent that in the realm of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) which underpins business enterprises and governments. Consider VW’s illegal use of emissions test cheating software in over 11 million vehicles, the Sony Movies hack that wiped half the company’s computers, saw valuable corporate data posted online, and highlighted the need for backup communications, and Apple’s failure to detect that around 4000 apps in its Appstore were infected with xCodeGhost malware. Even bigger targets are being discussed within the context of Aurora Attacks.
Cyberwarfare is the quiet giant waiting to devour us and particularly enterprises. From the megatrends keynote given at the World Computing Congress, over 90% of networks can be compromised and this can happen in less that 15 minutes.
