The US faces cyber attacks on a daily basis, not just threats

Are we at risk for a cyber attack in the U.S, and who’s keeping us safe?

We are at risk… “blinking red” is a term used in the intelligence community when the warnings they’re receiving signal something could happen.

The Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats says he’s concerned about threats to our infrastructure, especially the electric grid.

That’s because there are vulnerabilities, and if the grid goes down, our country comes to a screeching halt.

So how do we prevent this?

The Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Secret Service, the Federal Trade Commission and many other federal agencies are working to stay ahead of the game. There could be some areas where they are a bit behind, such as different infrastructures or even private businesses could be subject to an attack.

Unlike terrorism threats which are seen every day — but fortunately not carried out — cyber threats are attacks which do occur every single day.

Each day the FBI comes out with a threat matrix which is an essentially an attack matrix. It’s a list of attempted intrusions that occur everyday.

So, the threat on cyber networks is a constant battle that agencies and security forces will battle against for a long time to come.

Resources

Cybersecurity overview from Homeland Security

FBI: Addressing Threats to the Nation’s Cybersecurity

National Institute of Standards and Technology: Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity