Cybersecurity and its Threats Consequences of Attacks/Possible Damages to Society

Cybersecurity and its Threats
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Cybersecurity and its Threats
Consequences of Attacks/Possible Damages to Society
The consequences of cybersecurity attacks are dire. People have lost money, some have had their identities stolen, and some have had their reputations destroyed. To offer a much clearer picture of the consequences or possible damages cybersecurity attacks pose to societies, different categories will be used. These include physical, reputational, psychological, economic, and societal.
* Physical damage or consequences – this simply means the physical damage that results from cybersecurity. Examples can include damage to property, theft, corruption of technological devices, identity theft, etc. All these constitute the physical damage of cybersecurity. The occurrence of a cyber-attack also compromises the integrity of technological devices as well as reduces their efficiency.
* Reputational damages – when cybersecurity attacks happen, they greatly affect businesses as well as individuals. For businesses, their public perception changes as a result of the attack. Major companies have suffered setbacks at the hands of cyber-criminals who have permanently damaged their reputation. Businesses care about their reputation because a bad reputation directly impacts things like their stock price. Sony, for example, saw its shares plummet more than 10% in only a week after news of its hack reached mainstream media (Monica, 2014). Sony’s reputation had suffered and as the news spread, this directly affected shareholders and investors who believed in the company.
* Aside from the above, there is also psychological damage – this mainly comes from the confusion, anxiety, embarrassment, frustration, disappointment, and negative changes in perception that happen after a cybersecurity attack. After an attack, victims are always in shock and the same happens for business shareholders, management, employees, and customers whose data could be exposed. Feelings of anger, as well as disappointment, are also prevalent in such cases as people try to assess what might have led to the attack. While offering an explanation of Sony’s hack, Hess (2015) notes that the hack did disrupt business for Sony, but also “had massive effects on the 7,000 employees who keep the studio running.” Nothing was working. “The telephone directory vanished. Voicemail was offline. Computers became bricks.” Hess writes that the company moved quickly and made “psychological counselors available on campus.” There was a lot of confusion as the employees did not have any specifics. Frustration and anxiety were exhibited in the weeks that followed because people did not know what will happen afterwards. Even though Sony did recover, the memory of the hack will remain with the employees.
* Economic damage to individuals, businesses, and countries is another consequence – people who have had their identities stolen often complain of their credit cards being used to make purchases and their accounts being ‘wiped out.’ People have lost properties and their credentials have been used to get loans. Businesses have also been economically affected by cybersecurity attacks. Major companies have had to spend millions of dollars to settle cases and also conduct major IT reshuffle in the wake of attacks. A company that felt the financial or economic pinch of cyberattacks is Target. Reuters (2017) note that the company had to incur a cost of $202 million after a data breach. Sony, on the other hand, had to part with as much as $100 million according to Richwine (2014). In the end, instead of making profits, businesses end up incurring more than they need to as they seek to enhance their security features.
* Finally, there are possible damages to society as well – one way that a society can be affected by cyberattacks is through the disruption of certain activities. Cyber-criminals have been accused of attacking major government facilities and thus disrupting normal activities and services. Krasimirov (2019) writes about Bulgaria’s biggest data breach noting that “hackers had stolen millions of taxpayers’ financial data in an attack that one researcher said may have compromised nearly every adult’s personal records.” Such an attack can be catastrophic and even though the country’s government claimed that the information stolen “did not endanger financial stability,” it could greatly affect the country in other ways. A good example is the loss of trust in technological advancement. Cyberattacks are indeed unfortunate but they could erode the trust people have in a system as well as in technology. The perception of the public towards the government, in the case of Bulgaria or an organization, can be greatly affected. An attack of Bulgaria’s magnitude could impact how the government functions as well as how it offers its services.
So, while trying to examine the consequences or possible damages of a cybersecurity attack, it is crucial that these categories are outlined and analyzed. Whether the attack is on an individual, business, or a country, the long-term effects of cybersecurity attacks are damning for everyone.
Example of Notable Attacks and Breaches
The world has witnessed several major cybersecurity attacks and breaches with varying impacts and costs. Some examples include:
* The Bulgaria attack – Bulgaria, a country of seven million people had a data breach that is said to have affected nearly all adults in the country (BBC, 2019). As indicated earlier, the government was quick to mention that the stolen data did not pose any financial risk to those affected. However, regardless of the assurances of the government, having such a major attack happen on a tax agency could mean a loophole exists in the country’s technological infrastructure. The data that was stolen included personal details like names as well as addresses. As a result of the attack, the...