Page 4 - Cybersecurity Career Guide for UT Austin

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Are you into computers and video games? Solving puzzles and mysteries?
Writing code and programming computers? Tracking criminals? Defending our
country? Then cybersecurity could be for you! Because CYBERSECURITY IS...
Defending Our Nation
America faces constant cyber threats from nefarious “black hat”
hackers who tirelessly attempt to breach government and industry
computer systems for malicious purposes or to steal valuable data
and trade secrets. These hackers can be part of criminal gangs or agents
of hostile nations like Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. In recent
years, there have been notable cyberattacks perpetrated by Russian
and Chinese hackers.
In 2019, a cyberattack orchestrated by Russian agents was discovered
within a software update from SolarWinds, a Texas company. This mali-
cious code affected around 100 companies and government agencies,
including tech giants like Microsoft and Intel, as well as the depart-
ments of Justice, Energy, and Defense. Similarly, in 2021, Chinese hackers
breached Microsoft’s Exchange servers, impacting over 30,000 organiza-
tions. Then, in 2023, they gained access to classified information from
U.S. government agencies through a hack on Microsoft’s email system.
Ransomware attacks have also been on the rise, where hackers lock
up systems and demand a ransom for their release. See page 14 to read
about a Russian gang’s ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline.
Dealing with these cyber threats and holding hackers accountable is
a 24/7 undertaking. The U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), leads the
effort with specialists from various government agencies. See page 44.
Because the telecommunications
industry builds, controls, and operates
the nation’s critical information infra-
structure, these businesses are inviting
targets for both cyber ­ criminals and
foreign adversaries. In January 2023, T-
Mobile announced that a cyber­ attack on
its systems affected more than 37 million
customers. Some of the exposed data
included names, Social Security num-
bers, and birthdays. The massive breach
comes on the heels of five, yes five, other
T-Mobile leaks in recent years and a SIM-
swapping attack earlier in 2021. In these
incidents, hackers may have leveraged
some of that breached information to
access phones and all the precious data
we keep in them, such as photos, emails,
passwords, and even that handy banking
app. (Time to borrow some­ one else’s
phone and call your bank, asap.)
Securing
Our Phones
what is cybersecurity?
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