Comparing Cyber Security risks between the United States and other countries will show many similarities. Specifically looking at the comparisons between China’s Risks and our own. Both our countries have critical infrastructure such as power grids. Security regarding the safe keeping of national secrets and the need to keep up a constant defense against what the country deems a threat. Just like the United States, China has rules and laws protecting confidential information such as the “Right of Privacy and Protection of Personal Information” much like the United States has the “Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2017”.
The United States and China also are among the top “Spam Sending countries” (International Journal of Cyber Criminology, December 2016.). The threat of Spam poses a large risk to both countries. Spam can be used in ways to harvest credentials, install malware, and trick unsuspecting users into scams that cost businesses and individuals millions a year in fraud. Countries like China and the United States also have large Gross Domestic Product which correlates with increased exposure to security risks. Why is this? Wealthier Countries tend to have higher internet traffic, more business conducted online, and an increased need for telecommunications. This creates a large area of attack among cybercriminals. Wealthier nations, like the United States, provide a larger reward for attackers if successful. “…wealthier nations lead to greater information and communications technology…” (International Journal of Cyber Criminology, December 2016.).
Another threat common between our two countries would be the loss of intellectual property through P2P file sharing. The sharing of copy written material without permission of the owner is known as internet piracy. In the early 2000s programs like “Kazaa” were used, mostly by teenagers and young adults, to illegally share music across the internet. According to “RIAA” “The U.S. economy loses $12.5 billion in total output annually because of music theft.” (The True Cost of Sound Recording Piracy to the U.S. Economy | IPI, 2022). This is just in the music industry in the United States. Other industries, like the film industry, gaming industry, and pretty much any intellectual property is at risk of being shared through P2P sites like BitTorrent. The threat goes beyond just that of illegal file sharing. These networks are decentralized, unregulated, and rarely checked. Many files downloaded could be disguised as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. While the title of a file being downloaded may seem harmless, it could contain a malicious payload that infects the receiving PC, which can be catastrophic to an individual or business.
Cited Works:
Kigerl, A. (2016). Cyber Crime Nation Typologies. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 1-23
https://www.riaa.com. (2022). Retrieved from RIAA: https://riaa.com