We’ve just begun a series of blog posts that cover some of the most common questions I get asked about cybersecurity. Here are the last two weeks of questions in case you missed them and want to catch up.
- Q: What should I look for when shopping for a VPN for everyday use?
- Q: How often should I change my online passwords for maximum safety?
This week’s question is a big one:
Q: How can we control cybercrime?
A: First, it helps to understand why the US can’t control it now. In brief, cybercriminals:
- Constantly innovate their technology and methods to stay ahead of police investigations
- Count on most victims being too ashamed to report the crime
- Tend to operate in countries that will not cooperate with the US justice system, so we can’t easily arrest them (e.g., Russia)
- Attack from computers they don’t own
- Take advantage of cryptocurrency anonymity to make it very difficult to attribute attacks to named individuals
Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to these substantial advantages that cybercriminals enjoy. For example, we can’t just force countries to turn over cyber criminals unless we are willing to start a war.
This situation reminds me of the beginning of the Bonny and Clyde era. It took about 60 years for the risk of bank branch robbery in the US to be reduced to negligible levels. How long will it take us to overcome the cybercriminal advantages? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and let’s dialogue on the subject.