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US at risk of 'catastrophic cyber-attack' says intelligence panel chairman
The United States is woefully unprepared to counter a “catastrophic cyber-attack” that's expected within 12 to 24 months, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said Thursday.
The House has been doing its part, Rogers said, easily passing his cybersecurity bill last month while his own committee on Thursday adopted its spending bill for fiscal 2013 by a unanimous 19-0 vote. But the White House, citing privacy concerns, has issued a veto threat against the legislation that would allow the government to inform private companies about impending cyber-attacks.
“We are today involved in a cyber war,” Rogers said in remarks at a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace event marking the launch of The Hill's Global Affairs blog. “Our challenge is … can we prepare ourselves quickly enough?”
During the wide ranging discussion, Rogers tore down the notion that the United States would enjoy a “peace dividend” as the decade-long war in Afghanistan winds down. Rather, he said, the world is getting “more complicated day by day.”
He mentioned in particular North Korea's recent rocket launch, Russia's investment in its nuclear submarine fleet and China's claims on the South China Sea, which Rogers said has been patrolled by the U.S. Navy ever since the nation's birth. And he raised concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions, al Qaeda's remnants and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's desire to be a “destabilizer to U.S. interests.”
Rogers took particular aim at media reports that downplayed the threat of an alleged Iranian agent who is accused of trying to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States. Far from dealing with a “buffoon,” he said, the United States caught a lucky break because the alleged agent turned to a violent criminal -- “John Gotti's John Gotti” -- who just happened to have been turned in 18 months earlier by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
