How Do We Win the Cyberwar?

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ALUMNI | June 1, 2016

We’re losing the war against hackers, and it’s costing business billions. Alumni cybersecurity experts tell us how we can turn the tide

Your credit card has already been stolen. You just don’t know it yet.

Thomas knows it, though. (A 12-year IT security veteran, Thomas requested anonymity to protect the reputation of his employers, which have included Fortune 100 companies and several of New England’s biggest tech firms.) In the analogy of cyberdefense as a castle—a favorite of his—he tends to the moats, the walls, and the gates. Get past those, and he deploys the dogs. And he’s watched many people scale walls, break gates, evade dogs, and leave with your AmEx number.