Predator and prey in cyber stasis

In the world of cybersecurity, just as in nature, there are predators and there is prey. The predators are the hunters, the ones that seek out the weak and the vulnerable on which to prey, that applies whether we are talking cat and mouse or hacker and computer system.

Writing in the International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning, a team from the USA suggests that the waxing and waning, the ebb and flow of cyber attack on the Internet of Things and other systems reflects the natural rise and fall of predator and prey numbers. When predators attack more frequently and with more sophisticated weaponry, the prey ultimately adapts to cope and so the predator must also evolve to have sharper teeth and longer claws to persist in the next round of attack and so on.

If predator becomes too sophisticated, then all prey will be devoured and there will be nothing left on which the predators might feast. Conversely, if prey somehow evolved the ultimate defenses, then the predators would ultimately die out. Given then for the whole of natural and computer history predators and prey have existed in a bitter harmony, it is suggested that either route is likely to be taken. Predator and prey might outwit each other in cycles, but ultimately they will both persist in what is essentially stasis.

In a world where there are always malicious people, the predators, prey must be perpetually vigilant, which means companies and individuals using information and computing technology must constantly be on the lookout for predator attack and take defensive action as soon as they can to preclude their demise.

Gary, R.F., Marinakis, Y., Majadillas, M.A., White, R. and Walsh, S.T. (2019) ‘Legitimate firms or hackers – who is winning the global cyber war?’, Int. J. Technology Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp.297–314.