MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-12-20 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] we are in serious trouble...
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wsj.com
Opinion | The Cyber Threat Is Real and Growing
Mike Rogers
6-7 minutes
SolarWinds headquarters in Austin, Texas, Dec. 18.
Photo: sergio flores/Reuters
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The SolarWinds breach could be the most significant cyber incident in
American history. Russian intelligence—likely the SVR, the
foreign-intelligence branch—infiltrated and sat undetected on U.S.
government networks for nearly 10 months. It was a sophisticated, smart
and savvy attack that should alarm the public and private sectors.
We may not know the full extent of the damage for some time. Don’t be
surprised if more government entities disclose that they too were
victims of this attack. Don’t be surprised either if it emerges that
private companies were hit. SolarWinds says it has more than 300,000
customers, including 400 companies in the Fortune 500. That’s a lot of
potential victims.
It appears that this was purely an intelligence-gathering effort. The
SVR sat on government networks collecting as much data as it could,
whenever and however it wanted. It was less like tapping into phone
lines and more like breaking into the library and wandering around.
Every country conducts espionage. That’s not the alarming part. What is
truly scary is that the Russians are inside the house now. Who knows
where they’ve planted malware, corrupted or deleted data, locked users
out of systems, or destroyed systems entirely? Turning off the system
and uninstalling SolarWinds software isn’t enough. It may take years and
thousands of hours to unpack fully where the Russians hid themselves and
their code.
Using a network-management company’s supply chain of updates to
penetrate targeted networks is exceptionally smart. This tactic will
spawn imitators, and not only among governments. Tools and techniques
used by state actors quickly end up in the hands of criminals,
especially when they work. Look how ransomware spread a few years ago.
Hostile governments and criminal groups want to see not only how the
attack was carried out, but how the U.S. responds, if it responds at
all. The nature of cyberwarfare is secretive, but recent attacks on the
U.S. don’t appear to have prompted any response. Moscow, Beijing,
Tehran, Pyongyang and the dons of cybercriminal gangs see that there is
no price to pay for hacking the U.S. government. So why not give it a try?
The U.S. needs to respond in a smart, considered manner. Shutting off
the lights in Moscow isn’t an appropriate or proportional response.
Disrupting the networks of the SVR or GRU—Russian military
intelligence—may well be. If the U.S. doesn’t define red lines today and
demonstrate that there are consequences for crossing them, we will
continue to be the victim of cyberattacks. The breaches will only get worse.
As we work to uncover the full extent of the hack, we need to get a grip
on our collective national cyber defenses. For too long the cyber
defenses of the federal government have been scattered across individual
offices, agencies and departments. There hasn’t been a single person or
office in the White House tasked with managing the government’s
cybersecurity policy. That needs to end.
The incoming administration must appoint a national cyber director, a
provision included in the recently passed National Defense Authorization
Act, and an issue on which I testified this summer. We can’t afford to
have dozens of offices and agencies running their own cybersecurity
policies and budgets. The White House must assert itself.
The government can’t do it alone. Cooperation with the private sector on
cyber defenses is urgent and necessary. This goes beyond contracts and
purchasing agreements, and must include recognition that the
nation—private and public sectors—are under attack. We need to craft a
truly whole-of-nation and whole-of-government approach to collective
cyber defense.
The SolarWinds damage is done, but it isn’t too late to strengthen our
cyber defenses, work to deter foreign actors, and prepare for future
breaches. And there will be more.
Mr. Rogers, a Michigan Republican, was chairman of the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, 2011-15. He is a director at IronNet
Cybersecurity.
WSJ Opinion: The Great Migration Out of California
0:00 / 4:18
2:54
WSJ Opinion: The Great Migration Out of California
WSJ Opinion: The Great Migration Out of California
Journal Editorial Report: The formerly Golden State is now sending
companies to Texas. Image: Philip Pacheco/AFP/Getty Images
Appeared in the December 21, 2020, print edition as 'The Cyber Threat Is
Real And Growing.'
--
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