Eric Cole
Eric Cole IBTimes US

Imagine a hospital employee connecting to their building's WiFi network, only for a sudden power interruption to occur. Monitors flatline. Flashing across the sole remaining screen, a hacker's message demands Bitcoin—the patient's lives held hostage—all from a single compromised cellphone.

This scenario plays out daily, contributing to cybercrime's $10.5 trillion global toll by 2025. Dr. Eric Cole, a former CIA hacker turned cybersecurity strategist dubbed "America's Cyber Czar," argues the solution is not to double down on chasing attackers but to rewrite how the world trains digital defenders.

The Crisis No One Sees Coming

Cybersecurity vacancies now exceed 4 million globally, while cybercrime revenue surpasses Japan's GDP. If we leave this gap unchecked, it will lead to serious consequences.

A 2024 IBM study links staffing shortages to 87% of breaches, adding $1.76 million per incident. Healthcare, energy and finance sectors hemorrhage funds: one Southeast Asian bank lost $8 million in 72 hours during a 2023 ransomware attack, scrambling without protocols.

Cole likens the crisis to "building levees during a hurricane." His work with Secure Anchor Consulting targets two fronts: upskilling professionals and arming civilians. "Cybersecurity isn't a niche skill anymore," he states. "Every employee with a smartphone is a frontline defender. Or, if left uneducated, a vulnerability to your entire network."

His 2021 experiment proves the point: after training 50 people to spot COVID-themed phishing, 43 still clicked malicious links hours later. "Awareness without repetition is noise," he says.

Rewiring Education: From Boardrooms to Living Rooms

Secure Anchor's strategy is meant to function outside the bounds of traditional academia. Cole's "Cyber Crisis" book series and keynote programs distill complicated concepts into actionable steps. For corporations, this means playbooks that automate threat responses. For remote workers—a group he calls "the weakest link"—it's about simplifying security.

"Your home Wi-Fi is the new office perimeter," Cole warned on "The HIPAA Critical Podcast." He urges using VPNs, disabling router admin panels, and segmenting IoT devices—measures that thwart 80% of attacks.

The healthcare sector is all the more at the behest of such stakes. During a 2024 breach, a U.S. hospital using the latest protocols isolated patient data within minutes, while a European counterpart without training leaked 500,000 records. Cole's collaboration with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) experts focuses further on encrypting communications and verifying third-party vendors—basic steps that organizations often overlook.

"Hackers don't invent tactics," he notes. "They exploit neglect. It's not enough that every member of your team is vetted and prepared. The shape of your organization should also be defensible as well. If some terminals or individuals frequently handle sensitive data, confirm that you have put proper protocols in place."

A Billion-Dollar Literacy Movement

Cole's boldest vision, however, is for the public to begin treating cybersecurity like driver's education. Secure Anchor's free "Cyber Essentials" course, launched in 2024, has trained over 200,000 civilians in 90 countries.

Modules cover password hygiene, phishing identification, and securing smart home devices. These are highly efficient tactics, and governments are taking note. Cole advises the EU on integrating cyber literacy into public school curricula, while Singapore credits his frameworks with reducing SME breaches by 34%.

"You don't need a degree to outsmart criminals," Cole asserts. "You need curiosity and the right tools."

The $10 trillion threat won't vanish overnight, but Cole's blueprint offers a path. "Every trained individual shrinks the battlefield," he says. "That's how we win. Not with more robust tools or artificial intelligence, but by making basic cybersecurity awareness as common as driver's ed."

Dr. Cole's free "Cyber Essentials" course and breach playbooks are available at secure-anchor.com. His book, "Cyber Crisis: Protecting Your Business from Real Threats in the Virtual World," details strategies for businesses and individuals.