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Cyber Attacks: Just as harmful as bombs

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Melanie Holochwost
  • Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs
Anything can be broken. Anything can be hacked. Even a Jeep Cherokee as it’s driving down the road. Remember that every day, not just during National Cyber Security Awareness Month.
  

Cyber attacks are the leading strategic threat to the United States, not terrorism. According to the April 2015 Department of Defense Cyber Strategy, it’s been that way since 2013.

Col. Bill Bryant, deputy of the Air Force Chief Information Security Office (CISO), spoke about this at Hurlburt Field, Fla., Oct. 27.

There are more than 1 million cyber attacks on the Air Force network on a daily basis.

Bryant said the only way we can stay ahead of these threats is to build the best cyber defense system possible. Then, assume the enemy will still get it.

That’s just for computers. There are tons of other systems that can be hacked.

“Our aircraft systems are old. They were designed for a different world … a world before the internet,” he said. Even today’s fighters were not designed to defend against cyber attacks.

This is why it’s important to train on ways to get the mission done without technology, Bryant said.

For example, what if GPS didn’t work?

“The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy are already thinking about things like this,” he said. “The Navy is training on celestial navigation and the Army is getting back to maps and compasses.”

Bryant said there is a very good reason for not allowing thumb drives on network computers.

“It’s impossible to tell whether it’s safe or not,” he said. “It can be the equivalent to taking wire cutters and cutting a hole in a fence at Kandahar.”

Below are some cyber security tips:

• Turn off “Auto Run” on all computers.
• Create strong passwords - Include numbers, symbols, capital and lower-case letters.
• Never leave electronic devices unattended, always lock devices with a passcode no matter how long it will be unattended.
• Always keep software updated, especially anti-virus software.
• Don’t open links found in e-mails unless it’s from someone you know, and never if it appears from a bank, the IRS, or similar institutions.