By Kevin Coleman – Defense Tech Cyber Warfare Correspondent
In October of 2010 cyber attacks were assessed to be one of the most serious threats to Britain’s national security by the British government. In stark contrast, the vast majority of private British firms are confident they are protected. There have been harsh comments about the British firms’ position on this rapidly changing threat. Most cyber intelligence insiders and information security professionals believe traditional security measures are rapidly becoming inadequate to address the advanced cyber threats we are seeing in attacks today.
Multiple intelligence organizations have warned that cyber threats are evolving faster than our cyber defenses. In addition, cyber security experts say that cyber security awareness of the real commercial threat to private industry appears to remain low. So, why the big disconnect? You don’t have to look far for the answer. Private sector businesses are often outside those who are read into to cyber threat intelligence generated by government agencies.
Britain and the U.S. share the same problem – balancing sensitive communications! Both countries have active cyber intelligence collection activities underway. The problem is when a threat is identified, the information is often classified and restricted from open dissemination; and for good reason. The sources and methods used to obtain this threat intelligence often times can be discovered through advanced intelligence analysis techniques supported by a plethora of tools that have recently emerged to support these activities.
