Is Anyone Safe in Cyberspace?

I have just read the US Department of Defense (DoD) Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace (July 2011). Within the document it is states that the "DoD networks are probed millions of time every day, and successful penetrations have led to the loss of thousands of files from U.S. networks and those of U.S. allies and industry partners". If the DoD cannot protect its information in cyberspace who can?

It is great to see that the DoD recognises the pervasiveness of technology in our lives today and that we are dependent on technology to run critical infrastructure (e.g. Transportation, Communication), to facilitate trade and for markets to operate.

Balancing this need for security and protection, is the reliance on the inherent openness of cyberspace to enable "new forms of entrepreneurship, advances in technology, the spread of free speech, and new social networks that drive our economy and reflect our principles".

This openness means that "the Internet was designed to be collaborative, rapidly expandable, and easily adaptable to technological innovation. Information flow took precedence over content integrity; identity authentication was less important than connectivity."

It is great to see the DoD making such a policy available in a transparent way, sharing their thinking and recognition of this issue so that we can all work together to resolve the issues that the Internet presents while protecting the opportunities it presents.

Perhaps the most unexpected comment for me was the recognition that the threat to Intellectual Property is seen as the most pervasive threat today and seen as more important than the threat to critical infrastructure - "Every year an amount of intellectual property larger than that contained in the Library of Congress is stolen from networks maintained by US businesses, Universities, and Government Departments and Agencies." Clearly information is power and businesses and economies rely on managing and protecting protect such information for their survival just as we as individuals need to manage and control our own personal information in the cyberworld we live in.

Here is the link to the document if you are interested - It is only about 12 pages long and very readable. DoD - Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace