Earlier this year, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which is responsible for the security clearance process for federal employees, was hacked. The attackers gained access to the personal information of more than 21 million people, including Social Security numbers and fingerprints.
This is just the latest in a long series of cyberattacks by Russia, China, and other countries. The U.S. needs to develop a coherent strategy for responding to these attacks.
One thing the U.S. should do is beef up its cyber defenses. The OPM hack shows that the U.S. is vulnerable to cyberattacks, and the government needs to take steps to protect its systems.
The U.S. should also work with its allies to develop a joint response to cyberattacks. When Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee, the U.S. was unable to respond unilaterally because it didn’t want to appear to be interfering in the election. A joint response would allow the U.S. and its allies to respond quickly and effectively to future attacks.
Finally, the U.S. should sanctions against countries that launch cyberattacks against the U.S. These sanctions could include things like blocking the country’s access to the U.S. financial system or limiting trade between the two countries.
The U.S. needs to develop a clear strategy for responding to cyberattacks from Russia, China, and other countries. This strategy should include beefing up cyber defenses, working with allies, and imposing sanctions on countries that launch cyberattacks.
The U.S. government has made some efforts to respond to cyber attacks.
The United States should respond to cyber hacking by Russia, China, and other countries by developing better defensive measures and stronger relationships with allies.
Russia has been engaging in cyber warfare for years, and in 2013, a senior U.S. intelligence official called cyberspace the “new battlefield.” China is also known to engage in cyber hacking, as does Iran. North Korea is believed to have conducted a cyber attack on Sony Pictures in 2014.
The U.S. government has made some efforts to respond to cyber attacks, but it has been largely reactive and hasn’t developed a comprehensive strategy. In May, President Obama signed an executive order establishing a sanctions program to punish individuals and countries that engage in cyber warfare. The order allows the U.S. to freeze the assets of anyone who conducts a cyber attack that harms American critical infrastructure or who steals trade secrets.
The U.S. should also do more to develop relationships with allies who are also targets of cyber attacks. In March, the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Canada signed an agreement to share information on cyber threats. The agreement is designed to help the three countries respond to cyber attacks more effectively.
The U.S. should also continue to develop better defensive measures. One area where the U.S. has fallen behind is in the area of quantum computing, which can break most current encryption methods. The U.S. has vowed to invest $3 billion in quantum computing research by 2020.
If the Chinese military is regularly hacking into the computers of U.S. organizations, as an American security firm says, it raises all sorts of questions about how the U.S. should respond.Is this a job for the military or the intelligence agencies? What role should diplomats and trade officials be playing?The report issued this week by the IT security consultancy Mandiant says it has traced the hacking activity to the People’s Liberation Army’s Unit 61398, which has “systematically stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations.”As NPR’s Frank Langfitt reported, Unit 61398 is headquartered in a nondescript neighborhood in Shanghai’s sprawling Pudong district.The Chinese government has strongly denied the report, but in the U.S., there’s been a widespread belief for years that the Chinese have been deeply involved in computer hacking.Speaking to The Associated Press, Shawn Henry, who now heads security firm CrowdStrike, used a military analogy to describe the current situation.”If the Chinese government flew planes into our airspace, our planes would escort them away,” he said. “If it happened two, three or four times, the president would be on the phone and there would be threats of retaliation.”
Conclusion
The United States should continue to respond to cyber hacking by Russia, China, and other countries by implementing policies that protect its citizens and businesses, and by working with its allies to develop a unified response.
Laurel Bond is a born and raised Canadian. Her love for nature and wild places sparked her interest in photography. For the past few years, she has been travelling to the Rocky Mountains to capture stunning images of wildlife, landscapes and the northern lights. She also enjoys exploring local towns and cities to capture the beauty of everyday life. She loves sharing her work with the world and hopes to inspire others to explore our planet with her.
