Register For Our Mailing List

Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.

Home / 210

Cybercrime response may slow internet

In mid-April, the 'Shadow Hackers' online group made public some malicious software that had been stolen from the US government’s National Security Agency. A month later, 'ransomware' dubbed WannaCry that incorporated the bugs pilfered from US intelligence penetrated perhaps 300,000 computers running outdated Microsoft software in an estimated 150 countries.

While that might well be the most chilling cyberattack ever, it’s perhaps not the most significant because hackers have tried to influence elections, most notably the US election last year. While it will never be established how much the hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign helped Donald Trump, it’s apparent that cybercrime is all too common. It is already a US$1 trillion-industry worldwide, according to some estimates.

Nothing is safe on the internet

Whatever the true figure, identification theft, fraudulent online transfers, payment-card frauds, network assaults, denial-of-service attacks by malicious networks of computers (botnets), ransomware, cyberbullying, trolling and online child pornography are too common. They show that nothing is safe on the internet – apart from criminals, it seems.

If people, businesses, governments and other bodies including hospitals can’t trust the internet to protect data, share files, host websites, seamlessly send and receive messages and make payments, an internet slowed by protections and precautions could assume a lower profile in everyday life – or fall well short of its potential anyway. To maintain the public’s trust in the internet, policymakers are making cybersecurity a top priority while an industry has sprung up to protect cyberspace. It will be a never-ending battle.

To be sure, billions of interactions happen every day on the internet without hassle. A cyberattack is yet to trigger a catastrophe. Firewalls, virus antidotes and sophisticated behavioural defences help protect systems. The payments companies have never suffered a significant breach. Neither have the big digital-platforms. That may not last. The core problem is that the foundations of the internet are insecure. After all, they were designed to allow a few trusted parties to communicate, not billions worldwide.

Fragile and flawed

Amateur hackers were around in the early days of computers. Nowadays, cybercriminals operate in sophisticated packs. Thanks to technological advancements that allow for mass criminal activity while protecting anonymity, cybercrime is lucrative, hard to detect and even harder to prosecute.

Government, businesses and households are taking cybersecurity more seriously with each attack. The major responsibility for keeping the internet safe, however, lies with the operating system developers such as Apple, Google and Microsoft.

Microsoft software products include Windows XP, the model that WannaCry exploited. As is typical, Microsoft puts a finite life on its software versions because software is costly to update and patch.

Despite the negligence of enterprises that still use Windows XP while refusing to pay for support after its ‘end of life’, in the aftermath of the WannaCry attack, Microsoft stood accused of holding back on issuing a free repair for Windows XP that could have protected users.

Critics suggest that Microsoft would have provided support if not for its profit motive to sell software patches, and that it has an incentive to avoid providing security updates on old software, to force people to buy the latest versions. A bugbear for many people is that companies such as Microsoft bear little or no responsibility under US law if their software is vulnerable to attack.

Invisible but lethal

While governments are giving greater priority to cybersecurity, the most likely catastrophic assault on the internet is by a state-sponsored cyberwarfare attack.

Rogue governments are adept at cyberattacks, and cyberwarfare is likely to be a never-ending arms race. Democratic governments need to develop cyberwarfare technology to gather intelligence to protect their populations. The more weapons they create the more insecure adversaries feel, which prompts them to step up efforts. Another quandary is that intelligence agencies must decide whether or not to warn software manufacturers about flaws in their code. If they inform software makers (and they often do), intelligence agencies risk making worthless their cyberweaponary edge. Another concern is that cyberweapon technology is easy to steal.

Such are the unending challenges of guarding the internet against the next WannaCry.

 

Michael Collins is an Investment Specialist at Magellan Asset Management. Magellan is a sponsor of Cuffelinks.

 

RELATED ARTICLES

How I lost my files to ransomware

Ransomware threatens home, office and national security

The shift to the cloud

banner

Most viewed in recent weeks

Which generation had it toughest?

Each generation believes its economic challenges were uniquely tough - but what does the data say? A closer look reveals a more nuanced, complex story behind the generational hardship debate. 

Maybe it’s time to consider taxing the family home

Australia could unlock smarter investment and greater equity by reforming housing tax concessions. Rethinking exemptions on the family home could benefit most Australians, especially renters and owners of modest homes.

The best way to get rich and retire early

This goes through the different options including shares, property and business ownership and declares a winner, as well as outlining the mindset needed to earn enough to never have to work again.

A perfect storm for housing affordability in Australia

Everyone has a theory as to why housing in Australia is so expensive. There are a lot of different factors at play, from skewed migration patterns to banking trends and housing's status as a national obsession.

Chinese steel - building a Sydney Harbour Bridge every 10 minutes

China's steel production, equivalent to building one Sydney Harbour Bridge every 10 minutes, has driven Australia's economic growth. With China's slowdown, what does this mean for Australia's economy and investments?

Supercharging the ‘4% rule’ to ensure a richer retirement

The creator of the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals, Bill Bengen, has written a new book outlining fresh strategies to outlive your money, including holding fewer stocks in early retirement before increasing allocations.

Latest Updates

Economy

Why we should follow Canada and cut migration

An explosion in low-skilled migration to Australia has depressed wages, killed productivity, and cut rental vacancy rates to near decades-lows. It’s time both sides of politics addressed the issue.

Investing

Simple maths says the AI investment boom ends badly

This AI cycle feels less like a revolution and more like a rerun. Just like fibre in 2000, shale in 2014, and cannabis in 2019, the technology or product is real but the capital cycle will be brutal. Investors beware.

Property

Australian house price speculators: What were you thinking?

Australian housing’s 50-year boom was driven by falling rates and rising borrowing power — not rent or yield. With those drivers exhausted, future returns must reconcile with economic fundamentals. Are we ready?

Shares

ASX reporting season: Room for optimism

Despite mixed ASX results, the market has shown surprising resilience. With rate cuts ahead and economic conditions improving, investors should look beyond short-term noise and position for a potential cyclical upswing.

Property

A Bunnings play without the hefty price tag

BWT Trust has moved to bring management in house. Meanwhile, many of the properties it leases to Bunnings have been repriced to materially higher rents. This has removed two of the key 'snags' holding back the stock.

Investment strategies

Replacing bank hybrids with something similar

With APRA phasing out bank hybrids from 2027, investors must reassess these complex instruments. A synthetic hybrid strategy may offer similar returns but with greater control and clearer understanding of risks.

Shares

Nvidia's CEO is selling. Here's why Aussie investors should care

The magnitude of founder Jensen Huang’s selldown may seem small, but the signal is hard to ignore. When the person with the clearest insight into the company’s future starts cashing out, it’s worth asking why.

Sponsors

Alliances

© 2025 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer
The data, research and opinions provided here are for information purposes; are not an offer to buy or sell a security; and are not warranted to be correct, complete or accurate. Morningstar, its affiliates, and third-party content providers are not responsible for any investment decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the data and analyses or their use. To the extent any content is general advice, it has been prepared for clients of Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892), without reference to your financial objectives, situation or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to invest. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a professional financial adviser. Articles are current as at date of publication.
This website contains information and opinions provided by third parties. Inclusion of this information does not necessarily represent Morningstar’s positions, strategies or opinions and should not be considered an endorsement by Morningstar.