As the world observes the 13th anniversary of the September 11 attack, questions will inevitably arise regarding future cyber terrorist threats. Technological advances have made leaps and bounds in making our lives more convenient and efficient – but it could also be used to increase security threats around the world.
The innovations in technology that we have enjoyed over the last few years, has connected and streamlined our lives. However, it also made our privacy – and by extension our security – much more vulnerable to external threats. Cloud services allowed us to create ‘smart homes,’ where a single handheld device can control the settings of an entire house. There are now talks of drones – from the likes of Amazon and Google – delivering goods to customers, all without an actual human being present in the operation process. Artificial intelligence systems has made our lives easier, but not necessarily safer.
It may now be unnecessary to have physical presence in order to be a threat. There are many ways to manipulate cloud services, from traffic hijacking to propagating action for devices accessed by cloud software. This means that a myriad of technological attacks could occur if a terrorist has the knowledge and the cloud service has a lack of security. It is frightening to think of a world where – based solely on technological advances – it may be possible to have a crisis akin to September 11 attack, with a remote-controlled plane. Is this likely? No. Is it possible? Maybe.
It is imperative that we now understand the importance of securing our cloud services. It is possible to minimize manipulation of cloud services through constant monitoring and adaptation of security methods, along with a strong data encryption system.
As the world gets more connected, more streamlined, and more vulnerable, it is crucial to keep our security in line so that malicious intents stay just that – intents.
