ICD Brief 67.
18.12.2017.-01.01.2018.
Happy New Year! Our Mega ICD 67 Brief brings you this week’s news from the US, Australia, China, the EU, India, Israel, Japan, South Korea and two Feature Sections: Lessons from 2017 and Predictions for 2018.
Seventeen years ago, our family celebrated New Year’s Eve with friends in Bali at a dinner under the stars next to the Indian Ocean. Our table conversations centred on the wonders of the coming century and our greatest fear: Y12. In spite of a superb dinner, companions from 4 continents and satellite TVs in palm trees, we focused on our weary 20th century world’s impending collapse.
And here we are again: tormented by recognized and projected threats; thrilled with escalating innovations, waiting for a new year to begin.
Chronologically 2015 shocked us; 2016 scared us and 2017 saw a massive global shift from plans to execution. What do you hope to see happen in 2018? What are your cyber priorities for government, business and academe? Are you ready to discuss with peers or interested in speaking at cyber events? I welcome your thoughts in my new inbox at acbader@protonmail.com.
USA
Election Hacking Help a Nine Month Wait for Some States
“States seeking help from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to guard election systems from hackers could be waiting up to nine months for an advanced screening from the department.”
Cybersecurity in the First Year of the Trump Administration
“As might be expected, the first year of the Trump Administration saw a lot of activity on the cybersecurity front. In May, the Administration issued its “Presidential Executive Order on Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure.” As we discussed in an analysis we issued shortly thereafter, the Order brought more accountability to agencies for monitoring their own cybersecurity, and required them all to implement the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. In September, the Department of Homeland Security banned the use of products, solutions or services offered by Kaspersky Labs. And of course, cybersecurity continues to play an important role in ongoing investigations and political activities relating to the hacking of the Democratic National Committee.”
Five Federal IT Trends to Watch in 2018
“Out with the old, in with the new. As the new year turns, it’s worth looking back on where we’ve been to better grasp where we’re headed tomorrow. Here are five trends that took off in the year past and will shape the year ahead.”
Industrial Cybersecurity Preductions for the New Year
This article by Paul Meyer, CEO of Veracity Industrial Networks lists five things to watch out for in the next year.
Cyber Legislation Is Teed Up for Acton in 2018, if Congress Can Find the Time
“Long-stalled legislation to create a federal data-breach notification standard and final action on a bill upgrading Department of Homeland Security cyber functions top the list of possible congressional moves on cybersecurity issues in 2018, a year brimming with cyber policy possibilities but short on legislative days.”
Australia
Australian Organisations Unprepared for GDPR
“Faced with the double whammy of complying with Australia’s upcoming data breach notification requirement and Europe’s new data protection regime, Australian firms are behind where they need to be in their compliance efforts.”
China
The 4 Policies that Most Affected China’s Internet in 2017
“2017 has been an exhilarating year for China, which saw an army of entrepreneurs turn the country into a world leader in fintech, gaming, and the sharing economy. 2017 has also been a tumultuous year for the middle kingdom, where a government newly attuned to the power, and threat of the internet sent shockwaves through a range of tech sectors. To reflect on the past year, TechNode have identified a list of government moves in 2017 that have left lasting impact over the country’s internet space.”
China Launches First Civil-Military Cybersecurity Innovation Center
“China unveiled the nation’s first cybersecurity innovation center developed under the strategy of civil-military integration on Tuesday, according to People’s Daily, with Beijing calling on the country to step up its national cyber defences.”
EU
Europe’s Privacy Law Set to Change How Personal Data Is Handled Around the Globe
“Historically, privacy concerns have been a lower priority than convenience and wealth. But over the years, people, organizations and governments have come to realize the negative impact a breach of private information can have consumers. As a result, we have seen an increasing number of privacy laws passed by governments across the globe over time. The European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the latest privacy-based regulation, and its effective date is quickly approaching.”
India
India’s Investment in Cybersecurity to Grow Exponentially in 2018
“2017 will undoubtedly be considered as ‘Year of ransomware’, the year when the global cybersecurity landscape was forever changed by attacks like WannaCry and NotPetya. The havoc caused by these attacks reached far beyond the paltry ransom demand. Hospitals turned away patients. Production lines came to a halt. Nuclear radiation monitoring was disrupted. Cyber events like these were a wakeup call to the brave new world of cyberattacks and how they could reach further into the ‘real world’ than ever before.”
Israel
Israeli high-Tech Exits in 2017 Totaled $7.44 Billion
“Israeli high-tech exits totaled $7.44 billion in 2017, 110% more than the $3.5 billion in exits in 2016. An exit is defined as a merger, acquisition or initial public offering (IPO).”
Netanyahu Names Israel’s New National Cybersecurity Chief
“On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his candidate for the head of Israel’s new national cyber security entity, naming long-time cyber security veteran Yigal Unna for the position. The appointment must now be ratified by the government.”
Approaches to International Cyberlaw: A View from Israel
“It’s not often that we come away from international law workshops most impressed and inspired by methodological debates. But that was our common takeaway of a recent Hebrew University Cyber Security Research Center event on the Tallinn Manuals on Cyber Operations. Before sharing our thoughts, we’d like to underscore that Yuval Shany is the director of the Hebrew University Cyber Security Research Center and Matt Waxman is an external advisor.”
Japan
Western Firms Go Ahead of Japan in Cybersecurity
“Japanese companies appear to be lagging behind their counterparts in western countries in countering cyber-attacks on their supply-chain networks. The attacks target a company through vulnerabilities in its supply-chain network.”
South Korea
Best of the Best: The South Korean School for Hackers Hitting Back Against the North
“At the fortified border between South and North Korea, students on a computer hacking course are instructed to peer northwards across a strip of empty land toward the enemy state.”
Lessons from 2017
“This past year, artificial intelligence went from a sought-after technology to a reality for most organizations. With the Internet of Things, and the multiple devices people have today, it would not be possible to manage the amount of data and learn from that data to make intelligent business decisions without artificial intelligence.”
The Great Data Breach Disasters of 2017
“A week hardly passed this year without a major data breach to remind us of how precarious the state of security was throughout 2017. And while I’d love to report otherwise, you’d be hard pressed right now to find anyone in the know who thinks things are looking up.”
Cybersecurity Lessons from 2017: Election Hack, Fake News, Data Theft
“Cybersecurity played a prominent role in international affairs in 2017, with impacts on peace and security. Increased international collaboration and new laws that capture the complexity of communications technology could be among solutions to cybersecurity issues in 2018.”
Predictions for 2018
6 Security Threats to Look Out for in 2018
“Any network-connected business is at risk for cyber attacks. With ongoing hacks suffered by gigantic corporations, companies are scrambling to understand the risks involving their computers and networks. Cyber attacks come in 6 distinct forms divided into 2 categories; each attack requiring a unique approach to protect your business. We’ll cover each of them below.”
Security Trends 2018: Biometric Hacking, State-Sponsored Attacks, Daring Cyber Heists
“There are only a couple of near-certainties for cybersecurity in 2018: that the market will continue to be buoyant and that attacks will become more sophisticated.”
Security in IoT Space to Be of Prime Focus in 2018
“Amid a rise in cyber attacks across the world, ensuring the security of devices linked to the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem will be a key focus of companies in 2018, say experts.”
Information Warfare: The Year Ahead
“Will 2018 be a year without conflict? Not likely. Will we see information warfare in 2018? Most definitely. Indeed, the possibility of information warfare being the impetus for a nation’s kinetic response is just as real as ever, if not more so.”