Insurer warns of 'cybergeddon' scenario @McAfeeConsumer

24 Apr 2014 · 3 min

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In a Fox 5 news segment, reporter Dan Bowens discusses a new study by Zurich Insurance Group and the Atlantic Council warning that the growing interdependence of IT systems could trigger a catastrophic "cybergeddon" comparable to the 2008 financial crisis. The report argues that failures in outsourced server management or other critical infrastructure could cascade, threatening everything from personal banking to government services. Vox‑pop interviews capture public anxiety about losing cloud‑based data and everyday online activities. Security expert Robert Siciliano (McAfee) is consulted, noting that while the scenario is theoretically possible, it is unlikely and emphasizes that the "cloud" is actually a network of physically redundant servers, meaning 100% security is unattainable but total collapse is improbable. The segment concludes with a call for organizations to strengthen cyber‑risk management and for individuals to recognize the limits of personal security measures.

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Well, most of your digital information is probably stored in the cloud, but have you ever considered what could happen if the cloud completely failed? Like, your data is there on Friday but gone on Monday?
I actually have thought about that. I'm hesitant to put everything up there and pretend it's safe. A new study is outlining the potential for major disruption and what it could mean for everyone from Joe Schmo computer user to the government. Dan Bowens finds out what Cybergeddon might look like.
Everything. Internet, shopping, work, uh, everything.
Most people can't go a day without it. Facebook, mostly communicating. Reasons for using the internet are nearly limitless.
I got an account at Chase Bank. I do that on my mobile also, like online banking.
Securing passwords, personal information is always a concern.
We change our passwords all the time, but I mean, you can never be secure enough, for sure.
Now a new report says it's not you who needs to step up security. Instead, the study from Zurich Insurance Group and international think tank Atlantic Council says organizations storing information need to step up their response to Cyber Risks to Avoid a Global Disaster on the Scale of the 2008 Financial Crisis. The authors writing, quote, "Obviously the internet has been incredibly resilient for the past few decades, but as with securitization, the added complexity that has made cyberspace relatively risk-free can and likely will backfire." It's not possible to imagine to live without the internet.
It would be really hard, like going back to the Doom stage.
The report says it's possible because information technology has created a web of interconnected operations. An example: outsourcing of server management. If one or a few were to fail, the report argues the rest could snowball, similar to the subprime mortgages at the root of the recent financial disaster.
This type of disruption is not likely, but, you know, there is no such thing as 100% security.
Robert Siciliano is a McAfee online security expert. He says the so-called cybergeddon scenario has been proposed before. He sees it as a minor possibility.
The cloud isn't actually a cloud. It is a, a series of servers that are backed up in physical locations, generally in redundant places.
Still, the Zurich company says there's a need now for cyber risk management. It should be noted the company offers insurance for these types of scenarios. Dan Bowens, Fox 5 News.