Infrastructure protectionPentagon says privately owned computer networks vulnerable to attack

Pentagon underscores the vulnerability of private networks // Source: hackersmedia.com

Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is concerned with the potential of a cyber attack on privately owned U.S. computer networks. “I hope this isn’t one of those situations where we won’t do what we need to do until we get slammed,” Carter told the annual Air Force Association conference.

The issue of cyber security has become significant as the number of attacks on American infrastructure by other countries and hacking groups has increased significantly in recent years.

Efforts to pass a cybersecurity bill stalled in Congress, with industry and privacy advocates objecting to the bill. The Globe and Mail reports that privately owned infrastructure companies are concerned with the amount and type of data that can be shared among private companies and with the government, and to what extent the government can get involved in protecting private networks.

The lack of regulations has pushed the White House to consider an executive order which would mandate cybersecurity standards infrastructure companies would have to meet.

Congress’ failure to pass cyber security legislation this summer was very disappointing, Carter said after the speech, noting that the proposed measure would have helped increase U.S. cyber security “tremendously.”

Carter told hundreds of industry executives and military officials at the conference that protecting the country’s privately controlled computer networks has raised antitrust and privacy questions which need to be addressed more quickly. “When it comes to the nation’s networks there are many other forces and considerations that make it very complicated, and therefore very slow, and I’m concerned that it’s moving too slowly,” Carter told Reuters after his remarks at the conference.

“We’re still vulnerable and the pace is not adequate,” Carter told members at the conference. Carter also said that many private companies have invested too little, or not at all in cyber security.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, is also worried about the threat of a cyber attack. “We better take seriously the threat in cyber space,” Dempsey told Reuters after a speech at the conference. “We’ve got to get ourselves better prepared for the kind of activities in cyber that are happening all over the globe.”

Debora Plunkett, who works for the National Security Agency (NSA) predicted Congress would pass cyber security legislation within the next year.