There are countless scenarios in which the next World War will take place. One of the most likely is a war sparked by a particularly bad and damaging computer network attack that takes out electric grids, shuts down nuclear stations, causes general mayhem, and renders the US government and other key players defenseless against an invisible foe. There may already be a concurrence of opinion that Cyber World War III is already underway.
Hackers and security companies have the pedal to the metal as the competition heats up and the parties play for higher and higher stakes. IndustryTap reported just a couple weeks ago that CIA Director John Brennan ended up with egg on his face complements of a teenage hacker who accessed his personal email account. Shortly after the attack, Brennan’s emails, including sensitive CIA documents and information on CIA staff were posted to Wikileaks.
Cybersecurity Companies Beefing Up Technology to Thwart Hackers
With millions, billions, and perhaps trillions of dollars to lose, cybersecurity companies, especially startups, are dipping into the world’s equity markets to obtain the funds needed to get ahead of hackers. London-based Sophos raised $125 million this past summer and is now valued at $1.6 billion (1 billion British pounds) and is just one of the companies the UK hopes will lead the world in cybersecurity.
Estimates are that the world is spending $79 billion on cybersecurity in 2015. A total of $7.3 billion was invested in over 1,200 cybersecurity startups over the past five years. This huge jump in investment will help security vendors add brain and brawn as they continue working to plug holes in computer networks and protect companies and the public.
For more on cybersecurity, see coverage of the 6th Annual Billington Cybersecurity Summit 2015 held in September.
