CybersecuritySenior FBI official suggest creating alternative Internet

With the number of cyberattacks on major corporations and government agencies on the rise, a top FBI official backedthe call to create of a more secure alternative Internet.

Speaking at the Information Systems Security Association conference in Baltimore, Shawn Henry, the executive assistant director of the FBI, said U.S. networks will never be secure enough to prevent cyber intrusions and that threats facing critical systems were a permanent reality.

“We can’t ‘tech’ our way out of the cyber-threat,” he said.

With cyberthreats constantly evolving and outpacing cyberdefenses, Henry suggested the creation of a secure Internet, separate from what individuals use now, to help secure critical infrastructure and financial systems.

On the alternative Internet, no users would be anonymous and only known and trusted individuals would be allowed access to the system.

“We have to imagine things that haven’t been imagined before” to stay ahead of attackers, Henry explained. He went on to say that the Internet needed better community-watch programs and more gated communities to protect systems and data.

On the alternative Internet, there would be a “guard post” that would define the rules for who could enter the secured environment and access the systems. Rules would have to be strict and the people allowed in to enter would have to aggressively report malicious actors and suspicious behavior.

In addition, Henry suggested disconnected highly sensitive data from the Internet.