DHS chief warns of ‘pandemic’ cyber vulnerabilities
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen painted a daunting picture of the global digital landscape in a speech Wednesday, describing “a worldwide outbreak of cyberattacks and cyber vulnerabilities” that had moved from the “epidemic” to the “pandemic” stage. “Cyberattacks, in terms of their breadth and scope and possible consequences, now exceed the risk of physical attacks,” Nielsen said at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. “[C]yberspace is now the most active battlefield, and the attack surface extends into every single American home.” The Department of Homeland Security “was founded 15 years ago to prevent another 9/11,” Nielsen added, “but I believe an attack of that magnitude is much more likely to reach us online than on an airplane.” The department “wasn’t built for a digital pandemic” at its founding, she said, urging Congress to pass legislation to turn DHS’s cyber and physical infrastructure agency into an “full-fledged operational agency.” Nielsen also […]
The post DHS chief warns of ‘pandemic’ cyber vulnerabilities appeared first on Cyberscoop.
Continue reading DHS chief warns of ‘pandemic’ cyber vulnerabilities