Are We Doomed?

It seems like identity theft and cybercrime are always looming. My local police department, yet again, devoted their entire newsletter this week to the subject, and it is a topic that is always there in the background every time I sign up for anything online. But if you really want to be shocked into starting to think more about this issue, read Shelly Palmer’s column on Cyberwar 1.0: China vs The USA … We’re in trouble! As Palmer points out, China is home to some of the most dangerous hackers in the world, some of whom may be government recruited or sponsored, and while America’s high tech community is one of the best in the world, that group is not in charge of cybersecurity. Instead it is American civil servants, whose digital skill sets perfectly positioned them for government work versus Chinese hackers, who are government-sponsored, highly paid (in relative terms) and fully incentivized. Is Palmer being an alarmist? Not really. Cybersecurity is something that everyone talks about, but not much is done in a collective fashion.