CYBERATTACKS have become a top threat to the United States. Nation-states are frequently targeting and launching attacks against our top corporations, stealing sensitive data, and — politics aside — impacting our national elections. It is only a matter of time until citizens are personally affected by much more than identity theft.
Attacks have already occurred on our energy infrastructure. Here in New England, the denial of gas and electricity during our harsh winter months could be deadly. We can no longer perceive cyberthreats in terms of a lone hacker sitting behind his computer in a darkened basement. The threat is now driven by hostile foreign intelligence services and military agencies who promulgate an agenda to disrupt both our society and American businesses.
Security breaches at companies such as Target and Home Depot and at the Democratic National Committee have been widely publicized. But individuals are increasingly being targeted, and Social Security numbers, banking information, and medical records are being stolen and sold on the dark Web. Even some of the nation’s top law enforcement agencies, including some in Massachusetts, have had their computer systems hijacked and held hostage by ransomware. Even after extensive response by federal authorities, many have had to pay ransom fees in order to retrieve their own data. We have successfully investigated these cases locally and around the world. Our clients would much rather prevent an attack from happening than try to recover from one.