Cyber War Mass Hysteria Is Hindering Security

jhernik writes "International cyber threat initiatives are in danger of becoming overblown, the US government's security chief told the RSA Conference in San Francisco. 'Cyber war is a terrible metaphor,' said the US government's cybersecurity czar Howard Schmidt. 'Don't make it something it's not.' Internet attacks from hackers, spies and terrorist groups deserves serious attention, he said, but this should not be 'to the extent of mass hysteria.'"

Mod parent up. It's about the money.

[khasim]

First off, this "war" has yet to result in a single death of an otherwise healthy adult at home. So calling it a "war" is incorrect.

Secondly, from TFA:

Lynn claimed that spy agencies have gained accessed to weapons system designs and other military plans, source codes and intellectual property from businesses and universities.

Exactly as spies have done for the last 2,000+ years.

Schneierâ(TM)s fear is that we are on the verge of an IT arms race. âoeWe havenâ(TM)t seen offensive cyber weapons companies, but they are coming,â he said. âoeBig defence contractors are working on this â" you know they would be dumb not to.â

I'm going to disagree with Bruce on this one. At least until he further defines "offensive cyber weapons". Again, not a single, healthy adult has been killed at home because of any "cyber attack" by someone using a "cyber weapon".

The real problem is that so few organizations pay attention to basic security practices. Just look at HBGary.