While the images of Russian tanks crossing muddy fields in Eastern Europe evoke the bloody history of the World Wars of the 20th Century, Huntsville and its businesses may find itself on the “front lines” of a new, distinctly 21st Century war – a cyberwar.

“Redstone Arsenal is a Federal Center of Excellence with a great deal of research and development, logistics and supply, intelligence and law enforcement activity,” says Dr. Tommy Morris, Director of UAH’s Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education. “This makes Redstone Arsenal, businesses in the area and even our home networks high-value targets. Our home networks are targets because our family members work at Redstone or at local companies involved in the high-value target areas.”

Tommy Morris. Courtesy of University of Alabama in Huntsville

The Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education not only engages in bleeding-edge research towards countering potentially devastating cyberwarfare tactics, but also trains the cybersecurity experts that businesses need to protect themselves.

Unfortunately, even the CCRE can’t keep up with the demand for cybersecurity personnel.

“We have far more computers than [experts] to bring best practices to all corners of our networks…many systems remain vulnerable to attack, even though we know how to protect them,” warned Dr. Morris.

With those potential vulnerabilities in mind, Huntsville businesses are advised to ensure that their employees are kept apprised of best cyber hygiene practices.

Employees should be required to change their passwords regularly, once every three months. Mobile devices should be password-protected, with physical custody strictly controlled. Only trusted IT staff and key personnel should have administrative privileges.

Businesses are also advised to invest in robust firewall and antivirus software.

No software, however, can account for tactics that seek to trick or fool the human operators of those systems. “Phishing” tactics trick operators into opening emails or clicking on links that deliver viruses or other malware to systems, and “spear phishing” imitates respectable organizations to further deceive users.

That was how Russian hackers cut power to thousands of Ukrainian homes and businesses on Christmas Day of 2015, a sobering reminder of the potential danger that cyberwarfare can pose.

“They don’t necessarily want to take out our critical infrastructure now,” Dr. Morris says. “But, if we go to war or if they want to send us a message, they want to be able to attack later.”