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Will the US be able to withstand cyber attacks on critical infrastructure?
The global cyber landscape has never seemed so dire. From Russian-backed ransomware attacks against America’s largest oil pipeline to the phone scammer who won’t leave you alone during dinner, we’re living in a brave new world. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to Jen Easterly, director of the US cybersecurity agency, tasked with defending the country from all cyber threats — foreign and domestic, who is optimistic about the state of America’s cyber defenses.
Easterly says the US has finally gotten serious on protecting itself from cyberattacks. But the federal government still needs cooperation from the private sector, which operates 80% of the critical infrastructure that serves our daily basic needs. When passed, the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act will require whoever operates critical infrastructure to report attacks coming from state and non-state actors.
Easterly digs into why Russia is the urgent cyber threat, but China could do more damage in the long term in its efforts to dominate global tech.
And should we worry about non-state actors like ISIS carrying out major cyberattacks. Is there still a threat? "Low probability, but high impact," Easterly tells Bremmer. The bigger problem, she adds, is the dozen or so states that are using cyber to do sort of lawful things like collecting intelligence, but then use it for nefarious purposes.
This interview was featured in a GZERO World episode: Hackers, Russia, China: cyber battles & how we win
How private businesses help fight cybercrime
The federal government wants to help US businesses better defend themselves against cyberattacks — but little can be done if corporations don't report them.
That's why the Biden administration is championing a new law that forces them to do so, says Jen Easterly, head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act requires whoever operates critical infrastructure to report attacks coming from state and non-state actors.
And that data will "drive down risk in a much more systematic way," Easterly tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Hackers, Russia, China: cyber battles & how we win
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The next decade will be a turning point in the global cyber arms race. And the stakes are very high.
If measured as a country's GDP, cyber crime would now be the world's third-largest economy after the US and China. And it only takes a single password — as Americans learned after the 2021 Colonial Pipeline attack — for cyber crime to cripple a company or humiliate a nation.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to Jen Easterly, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, tasked with defending the country from all cyber threats — foreign and domestic.
America, she says, has finally gotten serious about protecting itself from cyberattacks. But the federal government still needs cooperation from the private sector, which operates 80% of the critical infrastructure that serves our daily basic needs.
Easterly also digs into how Russia is the urgent cyber threat, though China could do more damage in the long term -- and whether the US is prepared to defend itself from both adversaries.
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While Russia is the more urgent cyber threat, says Easterly, China could do more damage in the long term. As for non-state actors like ISIS carrying out major cyberattacks, there is "low probability, but high impact.” The bigger problem, she adds, may be nations that use cyber to do somewhat lawful things like collecting intelligence, but then use such practices for nefarious purposes. The US government has finally gotten serious about protecting itself from cyberattacks, but still needs cooperation from the private sector to drive down risk to the nation, Easterly explains, noting that the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act will now require whoever operates critical infrastructure to report attacks coming from state and non-state actors.