Many of the these losses involve far too many of us in one way or another, as shown in the recent breaches of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Home Depot and Target stores. These hacks compromised the personal identities, information and more of thousands of customers. The Cyber attacks on the Sony network a few months ago showed that even entertainment companies have trouble resisting assaults until revelations about the simplicity of the Sony protocol all but invited trouble.
Other recent attacks on Apple Computer, Dow Agro Systems and others point to the need for improved technical means to limit potential information losses even before they occur. On the government side, the release of information by SPC Bradley Manning and more recently by Edward Snowden makes one wonder if their work will harm the security of the United States even more than the Walker spy family did in the 1980s.
This article makes suggestions for applying several different controls in use in some sectors, along with some other adjustments. These changes need implementation with care as people who work with sensitive information will sometimes feel coerced to violate protocol in order to get a job done on time. Another part of the potential solution involves quick reporting to an appropriate authority; in many cases this means the FBI.
Read the complete report here.
