Our new norm

 

 

 

"Data. It has become our life. It has also become our greatest vulnerability..."

It really does seem like not a day passes when there is another story about some kind of data breach. When I graduated from high school almost 50 years ago, the term "data breach" meant nothing. Nobody knew what it was. Today it is pervasive. Data is our lives. It is our livelihood. To have someone steal your identity often times means someone is also stealing you blind. It can change your life, it can ruin your life. Data and data security is quickly becoming our new norm.

It would be one thing if this constant assault on our data came just from one source. But it does not. It comes from domestic hackers looking to make a buck. It comes from foreign countries like Russia, China and North Korea looking to disrupt our systems. It comes from international hackers. And it can come from terrorists looking to cause massive damage and mayhem to our very way of life.

I read an article not too long ago that Putin has thousands of skilled professionals in a "cyber army". But they are not the only ones meddling. The data breach talked about in today's newspaper originated in China. And this one was a biggie. These hackers were able to penetrate our federal data base and obtain information on 4M current and past government workers.

Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves? First off, accept the fact that your information and your assets are targets. Not to do so would be the ultimate act of naivety. Next, get some kind of reputable data security program to help protect your data. We started using one (Lifelock) a few years ago. We have the ultimate version. It is expensive, but it is very, very good. Not a guarantee that nothing will happen, but it does make a breach much more unlikely.

Where does this go from here? This cat and mouse game we are playing with data? I am afraid it will only get worse. Encryption, decryption will continue to get better and more refined. The bad guys get become better educated and the tools they will use will also become "smarter". Soon "A.I." will also play a part in this. And that is when our world of data will truly look more like science fiction.

So buckle up folks. This is our new norm. Whether we like it or not, it is here - and here to stay.