“Cyber vs Physical Attacks” – Tom Ridge believes that cyber-attacks “far more serious”

Following the year of 2015, which was dubbed ‘the year of hack’ with companies like Yahoo and Sony falling victim to huge hacking scandals, Tom Ridge, the former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said that a cyber-attack can be “far more serious” than a physical attack.

It seems like an outlandish claim, but when so much information can be reaped from a hack – which could literally ruin a person’s life, in theory – is he, perhaps in some circumstances, right?

Reasons

A theory to support Ridge’s arguments is that cyber power can be used for political means. This contradicts the normal belief that hacking and cyber-attacks are done for financial gains, where personal data obtained will be sold on to other companies, businesses, or even the black market. This is supported by retired U.S. Attorney General, Keith Alexander, who said: “Nations are using cyber as an element of national power”. Having such ‘psyche power’ could give a nation power that is beyond physical capabilities. I guess it’s a smarter way to attack, with technology being the way forward in this digital age.

Cyber-attacks can have many different purposes, which can be difficult to ascertain. For example, it can be used for political agendas, identity theft, and terrorism.

In this way, Ridge’s argument could be seen as correct as cyber-attacks sometimes do not have an immediate reaction, whereas a physical attack could. This is because cyber-attacks are usually unpredictable – like in the recent Yahoo password hacking scandal.

Responses

It’s hard to predict when and how a cyber-attack is going to be launched, or how an attacked state will respond. The reason why Ridge may believe that a cyber-attack is far more serious could be because it is difficult to predict. A cyber-attack could have disastrous consequences that could lead to disproportionate responses. While normally you can see the consequences of a physical attack, and therefore respond accordingly, like stop, drop and roll in the event of a fire, the field for cyber-attacks can be limitless and unstoppable.

It makes it harder when the cyber-attackers are anonymous or part of a group that do not disclose the hacker’s name. 51% believe that a cyber-attacker is within the corporate network (source).

Growing support

A survey across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific found that 80% of C-level executives and IT security professionals believe that cyber-attacks can have a greater risk to the nation than physical attacks can have. This supports Ridge’s claims that cyber-attacks can have more of an effect than physical attacks.

It is fair to say that technology has advanced so much and at a rate that is faster than security and protection. In order to be ‘on top of the game’, nations and businesses must assume that the cyber-attackers are already within the network and focus on enhancing their security. If they choose this technique, security can be much more sophisticated and well-thought through.