The Uphill Battle for Cybersecurity Accountability

Despite the rising tide of cyberattacks, global law enforcement faces significant hurdles in implementing effective deterrents against ransomware. "It comes back to the birth of cyberwarfare," said Jon Miller, co-founder and CEO, Halcyon, "where it was originally started as espionage, done by governments to other governments."

See Also: Corelight's Brian Dye on NDR's Role in Defeating Ransomware

It's a slow march toward cybersecurity accountability, as countries vary widely in their legal frameworks regarding cyber activities. While the U.S. government is hesitant to start classifying cyber as a higher-level problem than espionage, there are countries in which a ransomware attack against someone isn't illegal. So what should defenders do?

"If you are a defender, essentially you are on your own," Miller said. "The CISOs, the analysts are essentially the only line between hyper-sophisticated, incredibly well-funded and advanced attacker groups and stopping them. It all comes down to figuring out who's targeting you."

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2024, Miller also discussed:

• How the healthcare sector has benefited from the FBI's targeting of BlackCat;
• The roles legal partnerships and insurance play in planning for ransomware attacks;
• How organizations can build up technical resilience before an attack occurs.

Prior to Halcyon, Miller was the chief research officer of Cylance, now BlackBerry, where he focused on malware and product effectiveness. Before joining Cylance, Miller served at Accuvant, now Optiv, where he was part of a team that established and managed the Accuvant Labs.