According to McAfee, Corp., they recently stated that total economic loss due to data theft and security breaches thanks to organized crime, malicious hackers, and inside jobs totaled $1 trillion dollars in 2008. The report released by McAfee also highlights the rise in "cyber-mafia," which breaks into corporate databases and targets executives by extorting money out of both along the way. As recently as Tuesday, February 10, 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration reported that 45,000 employee records were stolen last week, and that Kaspersky, a firm that sells security software, was hacked into over the weekend. President Obama has asked for a 60-day review of how the federal government handles computer security.
It appears that, even with all the information out there on cyber-security, most businesses are doing very little in response to this systemic problem – including the federal government (you know, the ones who brought you Hurricane Katrina response "planning", etc.). And yet, part of Mr. Obama’s economic stimulus plan is to require that health care records be made available online. Hello, does anyone see this slippery slope that we are heading towards? Our information systems are under critical attack, and the solution my our Commander-in-Chief is to throw gasoline on the fire. The reality is, unless businesses are forced to change there ways, very little will occur in regards to ensuring that our information is protected on the Internet. And by forced, I mean monetary fines/damages.