Cybersecurity expert stresses need for measures to combat cybercrime

KUWAIT: A US cybersecurity expert says preventive measures must be developed to combat increasing rates of cybercrime that poses a real threat to companies and institutions worldwide.
“Prevention is the most efficient and least expensive method, financially and morally, compared to reaction measures after the occurrence of a cybercrime,” Guillermo Christensen, a former US Central Intelligence Agency member and diplomat, told Kuwait’s News Agency in an interview on Friday.
He pointed out that the US is the country most vulnerable to digital crimes of all kinds, due to its large number of access points and computers.
Protecting networks in different countries, especially Kuwait, and supporting its security will positively affect the cybersecurity of the US directly, added Christensen.
During a weeklong visit, the former CIA officer has been presenting lectures and workshops directed at specialists in the field of cybersecurity across various sectors.
He stressed that sharing knowledge and experiences and discussing different cybercrime scenarios will help countries and their institutions avoid crises that may be posed by the penetration of digital space and data.
Cybercrimes are on the increase, as a report issued in 2020 by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations indicates that the number of cyberattacks daily exceeds 2,000 around the world, and that the total material losses over the past year amounted to $4.2 billion, he pointed out.
Christensen referred to a number of documented cyberattacks around the world, through which cybercriminals were able to paralyze the movement of fuel and energy pipelines, in addition to attacks on a number of hospitals, indicating that these attacks caused severe damage in various fields and caused the loss of many lives.
He advised people not to use the same password in different accounts such as email and social media, and to make it more difficult and complex by adding non-sequential numbers in addition to using the two-step verification technology provided by many digital services and programs.