Day after day the threats we are exposed to in cyber space grow. Just recently Panda Security announced they processed their 200 millionth malware file. Just think about that for a moment, 200 million individual pieces of malware.
The company went on to say that cyber intelligence automatically detects, analyzes and classifies more than 73,000 new malware strains a day. That clearly illustrates the continuous change that goes on in the cyber threat environment.
Security experts have often stated it is this continuous change that poses the biggest challenge for those who defend our networks, computers and connected devices.
The constant evolution and introduction of new malware that attacks networks, computers and all of the devices that we now connect to the internet is the greatest challenge for cyber defenders.
Some are quick to wonder just how long can our signature-based approach to cyber security be able to handle this volume of new threats. For a couple of years now, cyber security researchers have talked about behavioral modeling as the technology answer to this problem. But, no one has offered how we educate cyber security staff and keep them up-to-date with the continuous change that takes place in the threat environment.
We need to increase our investment in research and development that yield new and innovative approaches to the technology side of cyber security, as well as an expanded educational program that integrates continuing education.
One cyber expert stated that most of the current cyber education programs focus on compliance rather than cyber defense. Clearly, cyber defense is where we need to focus.