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Of all the anxieties that plague Americans every day, fear for national security has now rated the highest, according to new data by UNISYS. The number of U.S. citizens who were extremely concerned with national security has spiked to 68%, jumping 44% since the 2014 UNISYS Security Index. The concern over security is not surprising; a person’s need to feel safe is ingrained in one’s psyche, an upmost concern in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In the past three years, the fear of terrorism, personal account hacking and cyberattacks on banks have spiked, with U.S. anxiety for internet security growing by 51% since 2014. Americans are not alone: The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Australia, Colombia, Mexico and New Zealand all reported elevated levels of security concern. Why? The lack of control.
Recently, cyberattacks and terrorist attacks have become disconnected and increasingly unpredictable. In 2017 alone, hackers have launched a malware attack using a stolen NSA tool on more than 100 countries; malware attacks have hit companies such as Bitcoin and Honda as well as hospitals and universities in London; and, terrorist attacks have become more random and frequent in European countries. As the threat transcends all enterprises—from infrastructure, energy, finance, transportation, education, healthcare—and based on online platforms, efforts to combat such attacks have been few and far between.
“Whether its kinetic and physical threats or whether its cyber, I think the reality is that the two are converging a lot quicker than decision makers and much quicker than the communities that are responsible for defending us can get their arms around,” said associate vice president of the George Washington University Frank J. Cilluffo at a press conference for the release of the Security Index on June 20.
As governments and industries grapple with ways to protect information on a national scale, citizens have also been concerned about personal security. The majority of the countries surveyed in UNISYS’ 2017 study ranked identity theft or bankcard fraud as their top concern. With online banking and personal information becoming more accessible online, companies have struggled to secure barriers to access.
“Our past ability to protect ourselves may be fading,” said former FBI deputy assistant director Bill Searcy. “We are such a connected society; we can’t go back…the idea of being able to control our information is difficult to come about.”
The human attack surface is indeed expanding. By 2020, an estimated four billion people will be online, with data volumes 50 times larger than today, according to Microsoft.
With the anxiety surrounding security often targeted toward internet platforms, the fear of attacks among younger people has widened. In the United States, concern over security among 18- to 24-year-olds is higher than 55- to 65-year-olds.
In terms of solutions, many members of the cybersecurity industry believe that online protections should be put at the up-most priority.
“Everyone has to stop thinking about security as something that’s nice to have, its essential,” Searcy said. “It has to be built into everything, from the ground up.”
Along with prevention methods in the private sector, such as creating two-factor authentication, instilling privacy systems in companies and putting in place more firewalls, collection of data has also been suggested as a solution.
“More data is invaluable to be able to start defining how we can make our way through and best find the path through to greater security,” Cilluffo said. “We need to invest in tech solutions and people.”
Although many proposed strategies have been implemented in companies, solutions in the public sector are often put in place after the fact.
In response to the WannaCry ransomware strike in May, President Trump signed an executive order to protect critical infrastructures, marketplaces and military from cyberattacks.
The UK has also built systems to combat cyber threats due to the increased attacks in recent years. In February 2017, the UK opened its National Cyber Security Centre.
“Bottom line in this is don’t have a strategy that sits on the shelf, actually operationalize it, test it, because it’s inevitable, it’s going to happen,” Cilluffo said.
Public Domain Photo: National Security Operations Center (NSOC) in 2012.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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Why Americans’ Concern for National Security Has Skyrocketed
June 26, 2017
Of all the anxieties that plague Americans every day, fear for national security has now rated the highest, according to new data by UNISYS. The number of U.S. citizens who were extremely concerned with national security has spiked to 68%, jumping 44% since the 2014 UNISYS Security Index. The concern over security is not surprising; a person’s need to feel safe is ingrained in one’s psyche, an upmost concern in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In the past three years, the fear of terrorism, personal account hacking and cyberattacks on banks have spiked, with U.S. anxiety for internet security growing by 51% since 2014. Americans are not alone: The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Australia, Colombia, Mexico and New Zealand all reported elevated levels of security concern. Why? The lack of control.
Recently, cyberattacks and terrorist attacks have become disconnected and increasingly unpredictable. In 2017 alone, hackers have launched a malware attack using a stolen NSA tool on more than 100 countries; malware attacks have hit companies such as Bitcoin and Honda as well as hospitals and universities in London; and, terrorist attacks have become more random and frequent in European countries. As the threat transcends all enterprises—from infrastructure, energy, finance, transportation, education, healthcare—and based on online platforms, efforts to combat such attacks have been few and far between.
“Whether its kinetic and physical threats or whether its cyber, I think the reality is that the two are converging a lot quicker than decision makers and much quicker than the communities that are responsible for defending us can get their arms around,” said associate vice president of the George Washington University Frank J. Cilluffo at a press conference for the release of the Security Index on June 20.
As governments and industries grapple with ways to protect information on a national scale, citizens have also been concerned about personal security. The majority of the countries surveyed in UNISYS’ 2017 study ranked identity theft or bankcard fraud as their top concern. With online banking and personal information becoming more accessible online, companies have struggled to secure barriers to access.
“Our past ability to protect ourselves may be fading,” said former FBI deputy assistant director Bill Searcy. “We are such a connected society; we can’t go back…the idea of being able to control our information is difficult to come about.”
The human attack surface is indeed expanding. By 2020, an estimated four billion people will be online, with data volumes 50 times larger than today, according to Microsoft.
With the anxiety surrounding security often targeted toward internet platforms, the fear of attacks among younger people has widened. In the United States, concern over security among 18- to 24-year-olds is higher than 55- to 65-year-olds.
In terms of solutions, many members of the cybersecurity industry believe that online protections should be put at the up-most priority.
“Everyone has to stop thinking about security as something that’s nice to have, its essential,” Searcy said. “It has to be built into everything, from the ground up.”
Along with prevention methods in the private sector, such as creating two-factor authentication, instilling privacy systems in companies and putting in place more firewalls, collection of data has also been suggested as a solution.
“More data is invaluable to be able to start defining how we can make our way through and best find the path through to greater security,” Cilluffo said. “We need to invest in tech solutions and people.”
Although many proposed strategies have been implemented in companies, solutions in the public sector are often put in place after the fact.
In response to the WannaCry ransomware strike in May, President Trump signed an executive order to protect critical infrastructures, marketplaces and military from cyberattacks.
The UK has also built systems to combat cyber threats due to the increased attacks in recent years. In February 2017, the UK opened its National Cyber Security Centre.
“Bottom line in this is don’t have a strategy that sits on the shelf, actually operationalize it, test it, because it’s inevitable, it’s going to happen,” Cilluffo said.
Public Domain Photo: National Security Operations Center (NSOC) in 2012.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
