Internet Cyber Security Pirates

The Golden Age of Piracy and Its Lessons for Cybersecurity

In the old days, pirates were groups of people who performed a series of criminal activities on boats or ships over the sea. For instance, let’s look at history: how we can learn about cybersecurity from real pirate stories. In 1522, three people from Cuba went to Spain. They loaded precious items like gold, pearls, and jewelry onto their boat. Historically, five distinguishable boats appeared suddenly in the area just as the travelers started their trip, and the treasure-loaded ships couldn’t escape. After a short fight and the theft of gold, this story inspired generations to come and launched what is known as the “Golden Age of Piracy” (Cordingly, 1995).

Internet Cybersecurity Pirates

In the past, the sea was a domain for commerce and communication; however, these days, the sea is a domain of information and the Internet. These modern pirates conduct various activities to undermine cybersecurity, from stealing and hacking to trading and leaking economic information and military secrets, causing unexpected and enormous damage. For instance, during the War of 1812, American privateers captured over 517 ships, significantly more than the U.S. Navy's 23. Although the British ultimately won, the American privateers inflicted significant damage on the British economy using the information they stole (Gilje, 2012).

Let’s delve into the main challenges of modern cybersecurity to understand what lessons we have learned from real pirates. To sum up, the biggest challenge is that “internet pirates” can quickly identify and relocate, often shielded by third parties. Based on literature, maritime piracy still exists today. A great example is how pirates helped the US against the British back in 1812. President Lincoln decided not to kill all the pirates but to utilize the power they held (Starkey, 2007).

Since the cybersecurity sea is much like the real sea, historical ideas have inspired modern cybersecurity defenses. Two main strategies have emerged to prevent massive cyberattacks. The first strategy is to shut down pirate networks by interrupting bad behavior in strict markets; then, in private-friendly places, the transactions will be halted. Without network support, illegal actions become increasingly difficult to execute. Although this approach makes cybersecurity much safer, it does not completely cleanse the cyber sea. The second solution involves establishing a series of rules and norms to allow open sea trade. By doing this, open sea commercial trade will be monitored and regulated. Setting norms can help two individual groups complete tasks without needing deep trust and relationships (Anderson, 2020).

Conclusion

The lesson here tells us that historical real-sea pirate tactics can be applied to internet cybersecurity pirates. It is undoubtedly a better idea that commerce and communication are made safe and freewheeling pirates and privateers are brought under control. This approach ensures that both security and freedom in cyberspace are maintained.

References

• Anderson, R. (2020). Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems. Wiley.
• Cordingly, D. (1995). Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates. Random House.
• Gilje, P. A. (2012). Free Trade and Sailors' Rights in the War of 1812. Cambridge University Press.
• Starkey, D. J. (2007). British Privateering Enterprise in the Eighteenth Century. University of Exeter Press.