The following post is by Awen CEO & Cofounder, Daniel Lewis.
Every single one of us uses energy, and that might be electricity, gas, oil/petrol. It might be from renewable sources, or could be from fossil fuels. You might be entirely reliant on a grid system, or you might be self-sufficient and use solar water heaters and photovoltaic solar panels for electricity.
Every single one of us uses water, and that might be provided from a service network of community pipes, or you might have rainwater collection and filtration systems.
Every single one of us uses transportation, for work or for living or for holidays. We have road networks with traffic lights and street lights, we have rail networks, we have airports and airlines. We also have logistics and delivery companies which use these transportation networks to deliver produce to us, and to the shops and businesses on which we rely on a day-to-day basis.
We have satellites providing us with communication and satnav capabilities. We have the police, military, pharmaceutical services and chemical production services - which form crucial parts of our life, directly or indirectly.
A disruption to any of these services could have huge consequences on our day-to-day lives, our businesses and our economy.
At Awen, we work with the organisations which provide these services, to make sure that they are reducing any risk of disruption which could be caused by cyber attacks.
Cyber attacks aren't just about stealing private data, performing fraud, or creating nuisance viruses on your home computer. Hackers have the potential, and they actually have around the world, to cause significant disruption to the devices which control the operations of our energy, water, transport and manufacturing systems leading not only to huge costs to the organisations that run these systems, but significant disruption to society.
Such a disruption could bring the economy to a standstill, or it could even cause health and safety issues (for example, if it were to hit a hospital).
I am writing this not to cause fear, but to honestly state that this is exactly why we exist. Awen exists to reduce the cyber threat to these organisations, this is the reason why we do what we do. This is why we are passionate about it. We do it so that not everyone has to worry about the threat. We do this to make society safer, globally.