Cyber Attacks !

 It looke like we are starting to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic but we are facing an increasing danger of cyber attacks which can damage the national economy and drain our personal bank accounts.  Most people are receiving those annoying phone call scams referred to as " phishing " in which fraudsters try and trick us into revealing sensitive personal information.

International Monetary Fund research shows that  cyber attacks cost Australian business $29 billion a year and is a fast increasing cost component. This originates from individual hackers from around the world, and in some cases from foreign nations with ill intent towards Australia.

Unfortunately, we are vulnerable because the internet is now the primary source of communication and exchange in the business world and both the price and availability of the hacking tools used are now readily available at reduced prices, making it easier for low skilled hackers to do more damage to our increasingly mobile services.

The biggest danger would be a lack of trust in some of the essential business components which provide essential services. If a successful hack closed down banking or electricity or damaged the reliability of the transport sector the flow on effect would be catastrophic.  The lockdown made necessary to combat the coronavirus illustrated how quickly a job intererruption can affect our way of life.

There is also a disturbing military aspect.  As a nation, we are reliant on petroleum from overseas refiners to fuel our transport system.  Any supply interruption would have an immediate effect on the ability of our defence services mobility.  A tranport hiatus would affect the food supply and our economy is reliant on all aspects of industry intermeshing harmoniously.

It is a fact of life that cyber attacks have doubled over the past decade and the financial industry has been the main target.  Many improvements have been put in place to avoid damage, but by its very nature an adequate defence will be impossible to guarantee.  The finance sector relies heavily on communication and that is usually the first casualty in a cyber attack.

Our Reserve bank has issued a warning that we are facing increased vulnerability to hacking by way of the Australian payments network which is progressively moving towards reliance on what is called " electronic wallets ".   We are moving away from cash money and credit cards and finding convenience by being able to pay our bills with a tap of our personal mobile phones.

The two systems gaining preponderance are Apple Pay and Google Pay, and both could resist competition because of the restrictions they impose.  Apple restricts services to the technology of the devices it sells while Google collects information on the customers who use its services.

It is obvious that we need to give thought to the dangers before we change our habits and take on new technology and we need a dedicated cyber warfare group to plan and implement defence measures to make life difficult fot the hackers.