Ransomware. Hacks. PII leaks. Data Breaches. DDOS Attacks. Smishing. Phising. All of it.
It has become noise I’m afraid.
Since Saturday, a major DDOS attack has ravaged Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) providers with an extended, targeted DDOS* attack that has crippled many business phone systems (including the ability to call 911).
As a Managed Service Provider (and VOIP) user – this has been a BIG deal this week. We have been in constant communication with our clients as well as continuously looking for updates from our VOIP providers as well as the companies they purchase bandwidth from (like Bandwidth.com).
Inside the tech world – this is big news. Huge. Outside of our world – crickets. No major news outlet has even touched it. A smattering of local stations here or there – but globally, nationally – nothing. Not a peep. The world seems numb to the plight of those of us working to secure them from the big bad outside the cyber walls.
And I get it. The average person is worn down – numb to the constant barrage of news about cyber threats. Heck – we are too. Trust me. But those of us in the trenches feel like we are fighting a losing battle somedays with no hopes of reinforcements from the powers that be.
Every day we are faced with increasing risks from outside ‘bad actors’ who are working in more and more organized ways to wreak havoc on the infrastructure of our country and businesses big and small. Our question (those of us in the IT field working to stave off the attacks is) – what is it going to take to get some meaningful help out here? And by help – we mean from organizations/entities that can do something about it. The documents and ‘guides‘ from governmental agencies are great and all in how to be protected – but when do these organizations say hey – maybe we need to step in and actively work on not letting the bad guys in to begin with.
I know I sound frustrated – because I am. It is time to regulate (with meaning) who has access to our internet from ‘outside’ and actively track down and prosecute those that are getting through. The new wars are being fought in cyberspace and we are woefully unprepared for the onslaught. Instead of telling those of us protecting businesses that we need more TOOLS – maybe help us with some tools of your own. We know where the bad actors are coming from – why not just cut them off at the pass?
Op-Ed Piece – Jennifer Gilligan 9/30/21
*A DDoS attack, or distributed denial-of-service, is a flood of fake requests and traffic to a company’s website or service.