Cyber War isn’t Coming It is already Here!

Wars today are less likely to be kinetic, and it is safe to assume that the primary mode of retaliation from Iran will be a cyber attack. Iran wants to bring down the U.S., and the fastest way to do that is to damage us economically. They are consistently improving their cyber-capability, including developing destructive wiper malware and other purpose-built tools. They are not the strongest superpower in the cyber dimension, but they are getting better and better. Most businesses have no idea how to prepare for or respond to a cyber attack or to protect themselves from any cybercrime, let alone an offensive, aggressive, and intentionally overt retaliatory strike. In the U.S., most jobs created are by small-medium enterprises, and they are quite vulnerable to cyberattacks. They operate on small budgets and without a substantial safety net, which means when attacked, many file for bankruptcy the very next day, and if they do survive the initial attack, they will close their doors within six months. These attacks are cost-prohibitive, and then they also find that customers are wary of doing business with attacked companies. The more small-medium businesses they can attack, the more massive economic damage it will have.