It’s been all the rage lately in the news media. The western world is ripe for an attack on its Information Technology infrastructure and we are woefully un-prepared to deal with it when it comes.

In fact, I would opine that we are all under attack constantly and in reality we are managing, against long odds, to defend ourselves pretty well.

That’s not to discount the pundits. The threats they speak of are very real, and we may well have to deal with them one day soon. We are well advised to dedicate resources of time and brain-power toward better response and resiliency capabilities.

But everyday, most all of us fend off attacks that literally arrive at our computers’ over and over again, minute by minute, 24 by 7 by 365. We deploy antivirus, firewalls, intrusion prevention tools, Internet filters and many other “security controls” whether at home or on our organizational systems.

All of these make a difference, but in the end the most important control of all is the “wet ware” – meaning, the human being who is operating the keyboard and mouse. This is the final control and the one that is most often responsible for thwarting these attacks when they get through all of our other defences.

And that is where we can get the most ”bang for our buck” in defending ourselves against these threats. We need to dedicate a good portion of our resources on education; starting from the grade school level and on up to our senior citizens. 

We can be ready both for the constant attacks and that “big one” we’re all hearing about, but it will require a new emphasis on education, research and practicing our response.

So far we’re doing OK – at least if you’ve finished reading this, you know the network still stands as of right now!