CybersecurityPreventing a “cyber Pearl Harbor”
Cyber-security has become the new homeland security of the decade. Last year, then- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued a call to arms against cyberattacks, warning that sophisticated attacks against the United States could be America’s next “cyber Pearl Harbor.” It is imperative that we apply the same level of awareness and action as we have to the physical security of our facilities to ensure our security against this ever-evolving threat.
Over the past year, cyberthreats have emerged as a primary concern, particularly with regard to homeland security. Governments, corporations, houses of worship, and nonprofit organizations large and small have been the target of cyber-attacks aimed at defacing Web sites, disrupting networks, stealing information, and damaging systems and infrastructure. In outgoing remarks, former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has a warning for her successor: A massive and “serious” cyberattack on the U.S. homeland is coming, the likes of which the nation has never seen.
In today’s world, most faith-based and not-for-profit organizations maintain their most valuable assets in digital form. Houses of worship and NGOs have a critical role in social service delivery and emergency management response and as such have more sensitive information invested in their technology than ever before. Examples could include employees, clergy, congregants, recipients of social services, personal data, home addresses, monetary transfers, donor information, private materials about a faith-based organizations’ plans, etc. The dangers of the situation are further exacerbated when one factors in today’s increased interconnectivity, reliance on digital networks and Web-based technology, and the broadened use of smartphones. This massive dependence on technology provides a perfect platform for groups and individuals who seek to cause severe damage to an organization’s infrastructure and operations. What is more, an institution’s private information is threatened with every download, every click on an Internet link, and every opened e-mail.
Mal-intentioned individuals or groups no longer require physical access to a house of worship or NGO to cause its community members harm, or to gather information to plan future terror or criminal attacks. Rather, a criminal, a hacker, or a terrorist-related group from the other side of the globe can, with equal impunity, breach a house of worship’s or NGO’s network and silently gather its most vital information. Most troubling is that a theft or probing of this nature can go undetected for years, if not indefinitely. Where information once filled floors of locked filing cabinets under the careful watch of staff and volunteers, hackers and computer criminals now have the capacity to make digital copies of the original that fit easily onto concealed portable hard drives.
