With our country at war and terrorism at the forefront and on everyone’s mind we must address the vulnerability of our computer and internet technology.  The sophistication of threats have increased significantly as well as the difficulty in detecting them, and so we must counter this with even more powerful security efforts if we want to stay ahead of these threats. Otherwise we will simply fall victim to attacks. Now more than ever the government as well as the private sector are taking action to prevent cyber attacks. Over the next year we can expect to see additional actions by the government to protect our technological systems and cyber infrastructure.

Rather than just focusing on a defensive strategy we must move to an offense position with regards to software and infrastructure threats.  We need to look at the power behind the creation of these threats.  Who is creating them and where are these individuals physically located?  What thought process are they using?  Are these individuals, groups or entire governments? If we can get behind the thought process we can take a proactive approach rather than being reactive.

We’ll most likely see a movement away from cloud computing where every piece of data is protected on a system, to certain areas or packets of data.  By condensing the security resources to cover less ground essentially we will make them stronger and can apply greater security tactics to the secure the most confidential of data.  Why waste valuable resources on securing data that is already available to the public, such as data on websites?

Many governments have already invested in electronic passports that integrate technology to identify facial, fingerprint and even iris scans of the human eye.  Unfortunately this technology hasn’t been implemented system wide as of yet, however we’ll most likely see this happen very soon in light of the recent threats facing our borders. These passports will hold a computer chip that will store biometric data and will match this information to the owner verifying the passport to its owner.

In the past the our governments prime focus was on network and infrastructure security, however since many potable consumer devices are now being used by our government to conduct business we will most likely see a shift towards increased data protection.  Businesses are also taking a closer look at their security measures as the number of employees carrying portable electronic devices has exploded over the past few years.  We must move away from passwords and numbers and acquire much more advanced anti-fraud software and security measures to protect the day-to-day, minute-to- minute mobile transactions that are occurring in both the government and business.

In closing, 2010 should prove to be a productive year in the way security measures are handled across the government and business. However, it is important to note that general consumers should also look to these security measures and take steps to protect themselves as well.  We live in a free country and therefore the government allows us to share files and information freely amongst each other. We must take steps to protect this valuable system so that it is not used against us by outside forces that have malicious intentions.  Every citizen using the internet should be protecting their personal computer systems to minimize risk to the system as a whole and to protect our nation.