North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un has been incredibly busy in recent months. With the assassination of his older brother in February, the North Korean military's launch of missiles towards Japan and threats of launching a ballistic missile towards the United States, an alarmist would say that these are the early stages of World War III.
Though North Korea's unremitted missile launch excitement has dominated news coverage, there is still more to bite off and chew: cyber warfare.
North Korea's Cyberattack History
In 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment was the victim of a cyberattack. As a result, the company lost millions of dollars and faced worldwide embarrassment when private employee emails were released, sharing salacious and slanderous email messages exchanged between highly positioned employees. The culprit behind the attack was a North Korean government-backed cyber collective called the Guardians of Peace. If you remember, the reason for the attack was to dissuade Sony Pictures from releasing The Interview, a comedy about the planned assassination of Kim-Jong Un. In a direct response to the hack, Sony Pictures did not release the film in theaters.
Just last year, the Guardians of Peace were reborn as the cyber collective Lazarus. Lazarus successfully infiltrated the Federal Reserve Bank of the New York and stole $81 million Bangladeshi funds. As reported by ABC News, the North Korean government continues to deny claims that they were involved in these two highly sophisticated hacks. In an interview with ABC News, former assistant attorney general for national security, John Carlin said "we're still vulnerable [to cyberattacks]. The threat in this space way outmatches what our current defenses are. It needs to be a top priority of this administration and this congress to fix it...you've seen all these attacks take place. It's not hypothetical."
If you have followed what's been in the news, then you are aware that there are conflicting feelings about the cybersecurity measures the Trump administration has taken. The American people were promised a cybersecurity plan by Trump's 90th day in office, this did not happen. This is not a slight to the Trump administration. Such as with healthcare, Number 45 may not have realized how complicated the matter of cybersecurity is. Bruce McConnell, the global vice president of the East West Institute said in an interview with CNET that "cyberspace security is critical to maintaining a working economy and a peaceful world, so it needs to move up the list." Trump has made promises to better the U.S. economy, but as to whether he considers cybersecurity a part of it is still unclear.
What You Can Do
You don't have to wait for an executive order to protect your cyber space. By taking cybersecurity measures of your own, you can protect your data from crafty cybercriminals looking to get their codes on your data. Should a cybercriminal still manage to infiltrate your server, CyberPolicy offers cybersecurity insurance that'll help pay for the return of the data and repair damages, both monetary and reputational.
Don't get sideswiped by a cybercriminal. Get your cybersecurity insurance today with CyberPolicy.
