📨 Weekly digest: 29 2024 | What if hackers had access to the same outage?
Is AI trained to become our ultimate security blanket? | AI this week in the news; use cases; for the techies
👋🏻 Hello friends, and welcome to the weekly digest, week 29 of 2024.
A cyberattack causing an outage similar to CrowdStrike incident 1 is a very real concern. Cybersecurity experts are supposed to constantly prepare for this scenario.
Unlike CrowdStrike's unintentional bug, a cyberattack would be deliberate and potentially more widespread. Hackers could target a specific vulnerability in widely used software, aiming for maximum disruption.
Yes, but what if it was intentional? What would be the ultimate purpose? What’s next?
The attackers' goals could vary. They might seek financial gain by holding systems hostage for ransom. Disrupting critical infrastructure could be a form of cyber warfare. Or they could be after stealing sensitive data.
If yes, what kind of data? What for?
Depending on the attack's sophistication, recovery could be much slower and more complex.
Rebuilding trust in compromised systems could take even longer.
Many questions occur, but very few get concrete answers:
Importance of updates: Is keeping software religiously up-to-date with security patches the only defense? Are there other ways to manage risk without constant updates? Should the burden fall solely on individual users, or is there a more significant responsibility for software developers and manufacturers?
Supply chain and logistic risk: Does the CrowdStrike incident mean we should abandon third-party software altogether? How can companies effectively assess and mitigate the security risks posed by their suppliers? Is there a way to build a more secure software ecosystem with shared responsibility?
Cybersecurity preparedness: Are regular tests and incident response plans enough to safeguard against ever-evolving cyber threats? Should organizations invest in more proactive security measures, or is a reactive approach sufficient? How can we ensure a balance between preparedness and creating an overly burdensome security posture?
Opinion: forget the "patch-a-thon" charade. There is a pyramidal issue in the cyber security industry—controlled by just a few large bank accounts— which will take ages to fix. The CrowdStrike fiasco exposed a chink in our global digital armor. As more and more cracks in our current security models and uncomfortable questions arise, we need to rewrite the cybersecurity narrative.
Is AI trained to become our ultimate security blanket?
Imagine AI watchdogs that learn and adapt faster than any hacker, constantly evolving alongside the threats they fight. Is trusting a machine with our data a gamble? Sure.
But what if the alternative is a world where human error and outdated software leave us perpetually vulnerable? Maybe the answer isn't building higher walls but unleashing a new breed of guardians—the good guys in the machine. Or the opposite.
What do you think? What if hackers had access to the same outage?
A must-read by :
If you haven't already, you can start with our new series: AI dystopia series | The genesis: a flawed utopia:
I am looking forward to reading your thoughts in a comment.
Happy days,
Yael et al.
🦾 AI elsewhere on the interweb
AT&T data hack prompts FCC probe, raises broad security concerns on Bloomberg
Meanwhile, a ransomware attack in Indonesia took down large parts of the government on Bloomberg
Reverse-engineered Ticketmaster’s ticket generation algorithm to make their own tickets on 404media
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