"Cyberattacks Threaten Global Security"

The US is engaged in a quiet but potentially devastating intelligence, cyber, and information war, with China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea posing the greatest threats to national security. That was the topic of a webinar hosted by Arizona State University's (ASU) Center on the Future of War titled "Confronting Current and Future Cybersecurity Threats." As computers have evolved, they have become increasingly entwined in everything, from information on a computer desktop to military weapons, according to Rob Joyce, the director of the National Security Agency's (NSA) cybersecurity directorate. Part of the agency's mission is to collaborate with allies, private industry, and academics to increase awareness and cooperation as well as advance the state of cybersecurity. Joyce was joined by professors Robert Schmidle and Daniel Rothenberg. Rothenberg questioned whether a devastating and fundamentally destabilizing cyberattack in American society is imminent and unavoidable. Joyce responded by citing the 2021 ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline that was caused by a single compromised password and resulted in severe fuel shortages. A cyberattack on the US government would have far-reaching consequences, affecting thousands of partner companies, defense contractors, subcontractors, and others. The ecosystem is made up of 30,000 cleared companies that work as subcontractors and 300,000 companies that feed into the defense department. Therefore, there is a massive amount of technical surface that adversaries can exploit in order to steal information, manipulate data, and more. Joyce stated that anything from municipal governments to businesses that are attacked is a national security issue. Computers are used and required in hospitals, classrooms, and manufacturing facilities alike. Joyce emphasized that criminals are aware of the resources people rely on, and they can take advantage of them. This article continues to discuss Joyce's key points regarding combatting current and future cybersecurity threats.

Arizona State University reports "Cyberattacks Threaten Global Security"