Page 86 - Cyber Defense eMagazine - November 2017

For the time being, both IT solutions and user education must be employed together in order to
craft an effective defense against cyber criminals. Coordination of these two approaches can
best be accomplished by educating general users to recognize and avoid the predations of
cyber criminals and identity thieves, as well as providing the technical professionals with a solid
understanding of the non-technical vulnerabilities involved. In this way, the desired result of
fighting cyber-attacks to a standstill is most likely to be successful.

Looking ahead, it’s important to remember that the internet as a system was not originally
intended to serve as a platform for commercial transactions and a system to carry all types of
private and personal communications, much less as a command-and-control facility.
Essentially, today it’s a leaky ship with a fast-growing number of holes, and the patches amount
to a crazy-quilt of Band-Aid fixes. Until the entire platform can be separated or replaced with
one or several more suited to the kind of integrated security systems that can assure that
human failure is not possible, there will be no end to cyber exploits.

One further observation is in order about the future of identity theft and cyber attacks: Current
projections of up to 2 million new cybersecurity jobs will be created in the next 4-5 years. How
many of these may be made redundant by AI applications? Are we preparing to fight the last
war? How will identity theft risk managers work together with cybersecurity professionals to
meet this growing threat, now and in the future?

“Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly
think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think
things over.”

Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey

The ICFE’s Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist ® XV CITRMS® course is now
available both in printed format and online. See: http://icfe.info/Certifications/CITRMS.shtml
The Textbook and Desk Reference edition of the course book is also available at
https://www.createspace.com/6176952 . Bulk pricing and discounts for veterans and students
available. Inquire at [email protected]

About the Author

Yan Ross is ICFE's Director of Special Projects, and the author of the
Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist ® XV CITRMS®
course.

As an accredited educator for over 20 years, he has addressed Identity
Theft Risk Assessment and management for consumers, organizations
holding personally identifiable information, and professionals who work
with individuals and organizations who are at risk of falling victim to
identity thieves.

86 Cyber Defense eMagazine – November 2017 Edition
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