IT failures, cyber attacks highlight online vulnerabilities
HOUSTON - Matt Malone is a cybersecurity expert, who says the type of problem that Crowdstrike had was not surprising when that little bit of faulty security code shut whole companies down.
"It was definitely a failure in human nature that caused this."
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In the U.S., Delta Airlines was among the most affected. The carrier is still recovering, more than 10 days later, and has hired lawyers to pursue compensation from Crowdstrike for its losses.
Still, there remains a need to protect against cyber-crooks, like those who shut down software, in June, that thousands of auto dealers use to process their sales.
"People aren't putting budgets to cyber-security, they're not putting budget to technology," says Malone, "They're trying to make profit on the bottom line, and that's going to cost them. It's a gamble."
It's a gamble on a system that was never designed for how we use it. The internet was first intended to send electronic messages between people. Now, we share secrets, commerce, business and cloud-computing that is a treasure-trove for crooks, on a system that is full of holes.
"These attacks are happening more and more frequently, the vulnerabilities are out there, and I think we're going to see more and more of these in our daily lives," says Malone.
So, where does that leave us? Malone Malone says companies, like Crowdstrike, are going to have to do a better job at quality control and containing mistakes. Users, meantime, will need to be more vigilant in ensuring the people we hire to protect us are ready to do that.