Foreword: As the 4th of July approaches every US citizen should reflect on the Democracy and free market capitalism they enjoy as both come at a cost and are under continual threat of loss. The bottom line up front is the world has left the information age some time ago and entered into newer age within which virtual and physical realities are blurring. The challenges facing information security and system vulnerabilities are even greater now than ever as the subversive actors often leverage cyberspace in the clash between worldviews. This epic clash has very real and dire implications for Democracy and free market capitalism of which every proponent of free market capitalism should defend with fierce resolve as the fight is at our doorsteps.
Tentacles of Conflicting Worldviews
Free market capitalism is creativity in service to humanity. Free market mechanisms such as creative destruction, innovations, and inventions foster value in terms of effectiveness, efficiencies, need, safety, etc... This created value is the basis for a redistribution of wealth in which money is put into the pockets of labor and business owners. Companies operating under a free market paradigm seek to leverage value through tactics such as durable competitive advantage, disruptive technologies, planned obsolescence, etc… in order to capture market share and earn just rewards for the fruits of their labor
Socialism operates based on the concepts of welfarism and egalitarianism. Egalitarianism fundamentally remarks that all humans are equal in every way such that what is mine is yours and what is yours is mine. The mechanism of social justice also known as institutional theft sees a dialectic struggle between the proletariat (labor) and bourgeoisie (business owners) and redistributes wealth eliminating just rewards for the labors of one’s fruits. Thus, penalizes creativity in order to drive equal pay for equal work. In the socialist mindset work is thought of in a manufacturing model of repetitive tasks and does not account for differences resulting from human skill, talents, creativity, and the development of intellectual property. Companies operating under socialistic paradigms are State Owned Enterprises, SOEs, and spiral into mediocrity then seek creative solutions in order to resolve stagnation. Unfortunately, instead of realizing the shortfalls of the socialist ideology then seeking virtuous reforms, socialists instead seek to steal consistent with their practice of social justice from free market capitalist extending the clash between worldviews into the realm of cyberspace. In effect socialistic nation-states conduct belligerent activities against Free Market Capitalistic states via the SOE.
Companies operating under free market capitalism are exciting places as they cultivate capitalistic mechanisms expanding existing and developing new markets that result in new jobs and opportunities. This also make them places to be envied and therefore must defend their intellectual and trade secrets not only legally but through information technologies.
Defending information is militaristic in nature. The defenders of the networks must think in classic war fighting terms. Defense of the network or Computer Network Defense (CND) seeks to diminish, deter, deflect, disrupt, and/or deny the enemy’s actions and will to penetrate the network in order to steal information. This begins with a defensive posture that exposes the enemy’s activities in order to have a deliberate response that diminishes, deflects, deters, disrupts, and/or denies enemy action against the networks.
At the core of monitoring is a network of virtual agents that are watch keepers of the network having continuous vigilance for indications of an attack. Hackers of the networks attempt to penetrate the systems through a deliberate process outlined in the post: Computer Hacking. Once an incident is identified then actions are taken against the threat in one or more of the following manners:
- Diminish: Threats are reduced simply through identification and knowledge that the systems are well defended.
- Deter: Enemy action is discouraged knowing that vulnerabilities are being identified, monitored, and closed preventing penetration.
- Deflect: Given an incident event, a response is planned and taken to reject that enemy action or redirect the action to a managed monitoring environment or may simply redirected into oblivion.
- Disrupt: This is a more provocative approach given an ongoing event. The enemy action is interrupted, blocked, or obscured at the point of contact preventing the enemy from achieving their objective.
- Deny: This is a proactive approach of closing down vulnerabilities when discovered in order to refuse the enemy use of those vulnerabilities.
In conclusion, defense of the networks is a challenge that has reach far beyond a simple breach. In reality the breach is an outreach of conflicting worldviews in the cyber realm affecting not only the systems but leaves scars as battle damage on democracy and free market capitalism. In the end, creators of intellectual capital have a right to just rewards and CND is on the front line of defending creativity.
References:
Kelley, D. (2011). The morality of capitalism; ayn rand and capitalism: the moral revolution. Jameson Books, Inc: IL. pp. 71-72.
McCloskey, D. (2011). The morality of capitalism; liberty and dignity explain the modern world. Jameson Books, Inc: IL. pp. 27-30.
Nikonov, L. (2011). The morality of capitalism; the moral logic of equality and inequality in market society. Jameson Books, Inc: IL. pp. 55-62
Palmer, T. (2011). The morality of capitalism; introduction: the morality of capitalism. Jameson Books, Inc: IL. pp. 1-3.
Schwartz, E. (2004). Juice: the creative Fuel that drives world-class inventors. Harvard Business Review Press: USA.
Yushi, M. (2011). The morality of capitalism; the paradox of morality. Jameson Books, Inc: IL. pp. 1-3.