The Blurring Line Between Cyber and Physical Threats

Every day, the line between cyber-threats and physical threats grows thinner – blurring the crucial distinction between attacks on networks and attacks on materials objects. 225,000 Ukrainians learned this in January of 2016 when they lost power following a cyber-attack on a Ukrainian power grid. The rise of the Internet of Things (loT) has expanded this threat from nation-state interactions out into the realm of cyber-enabled crime against companies and individuals. For example, cybersecurity researchers have shown how anything from sniper rifles to your car’s brakes can be hacked.

Greater connectivity—whether between public utilities or between your phone and car’s sound system – makes life easier and more efficient. But that ease often comes at the cost of security, and the problem is only growing worse. Arguably, the two most distressing manifestations of cyberspace intruding on the physical world are the rise of ransomware and the proliferation of threats to the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems that underlie much of our critical infrastructure.