Cybersecurity experts have come forward to confirm that the recent devastation brought by the hack of SolarWinds could have been easily prevented with a small hardware security ("HardSec") device. The Russian hack of SolarWinds’ Orion update—only discovered on December 9th—actually began as far back as March 2020 and has affected up to 18,000 customers, including Departments of Defense, Energy, State, Homeland Security, Treasury, Commerce, and other federal agencies. According to press reports, other victims of the ongoing attack include many Fortune 500, consulting, technology, telecoms, and oil and gas companies operating in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. These attacks show that foreign states continue to be able exploit U.S. software’s cyber vulnerabilities - but the solution may be in hardware, not software. 

While many cybersecurity experts, writing in national publications, are calling for establishment of new "cybersecurity safety boards", a presidentially appointed "cyber czar", and the hiring of more cybersecurity software staff, one expert sees a clear solution "inside the box": Hardware-based Security, also known as HardSec. 

Dr. Ronald Indeck of Q-Net Security in Saint Louis MO, believes a hardware-based cyber protection technology provides protection near 100% and could have prevented the SolarWinds catastrophe to critical national infrastructure.

"New programs and software patches to old programs lead hackers to find new weaknesses and entry points leading to more software patches, and so on", explains Dr. Indeck.

"The alternative is a move to 21st century hardware protection for critical national defense and infrastructure computer networks."

Recent developments mean small and easy to use, drop-in hardware devices are now available. Each Hard-Sec device robustly secures endpoints against hackers and cyberattacks. The new devices require no changes, additions, or modifications to legacy software systems and networks. In some good news for the cybersecurity community, the new Hard-Sec protection technology is truly "plug-and-play" requiring only minutes of installation time at each location. 

"It is time to move away from the endless cycle of defensive software improvement followed by offensive cyberattack followed by software repair and patching", urges Dr Indeck.

The Q-Net cyber protection unit, Q-Box, connects directly in line with the computer, server, IoT element, or network device. This hardware system delivers quantum compute-resistant encryption, is decentralized for robustness, and renders network nodes invisible to attackers. The technology has been tested by the Department of Defense, Electric Power Research Institute, and others. This novel HardSec technology is just now being offered to the wider market. As an alternative to software solutions, the introduction of an immutable hardware-based solution presents current cybersecurity teams with a whole new paradigm in system protection.

-ENDS-

For more information please contact Jayde Lovell at ReAgency: [email protected]

ABOUT

Dr. Ron Indeck is CEO of Q-Net Security and holds over 100 patents in computer technology.

Prior to joining QNS, Dr. Indeck served as President, CTO, and Founder of VelociData, a technology spin-out delivering accelerated decisioning to global corporations.  Before forming VelociData, Ron founded and was CTO to Exegy, a firm that enables over $1 trillion in trades daily.  At Washington University he was the Das Family Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Security Technologies.  His security technology has been incorporated into roughly half of the card readers in the world.  He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed technical articles and been awarded more than 100 patents; been named the Bar Association Inventor of the Year; and served professional societies in various roles including as an IEEE Society President.