Dive Brief:
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The Department of Defense (DOD) takes on 36 million cyberthreats disguised in emails every day, reports Nextgov. The department stops malware, viruses and phishing schemes initiated by hackers, terrorists or foreign adversaries attempting to access military systems.
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When extrapolated to a year, this means the DOD automatically vets roughly 13 billion potentially malicious emails for "suspicious content and other telltale signatures" before putting them through to an inbox, according to the report.
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Email is the most utilized medium for attempted cyberattacks on the Pentagon, but denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are gaining frequency. "Hijacked computers," IoT devices and even the cloud are enabling the sophistication of bigger attacks, Lt. Gen. Alan, Lynn, outgoing DISA director and Joint Forces Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network commander, told Nextgov.
Dive Insight:
Whether in the federal, commercial or personal space, it takes only one weakness to exploit a system.
If this singular weakness is enough to dismantle entire technical infrastructures, IT departments have bigger issues. After all, sufficient cybersecurity practices begin with the foundation of a system.
As showcased in the last year, hackers were able to exploit the personally identifiable information of millions through weak authorization protocols, outdated software and human error.
To avoid the potential fiscal and reputational cost of a major breach, companies are increasing spend on cybersecurity, with costs expected to reach $93 billion this year.
Of course, increased funding does not always equate to total protection. The DOD had an IT budget of $32 billion for FY17, but the amount specified for cybersecurity is undisclosed.
The DOD is taking on "600 gigabytes per second attacks on internet access points" with more complexity than past attacks. As a result, the department is gearing up to handle a one terabyte per second DDoS attack, according to the report.
While it is unlikely any corporation will have to compensate for an attack of that scope, it puts the grim reality of cyberthreats into perspective.