Cyber threats expanding — CIA
WASHINGTON — The US has elevated its appraisal of the cyber threat from Russia, the US intelligence chief said yesterday, as he delivered the annual assessment by intelligence agencies of the top dangers facing the country.
"While I can't go into detail here, the Russian cyber threat is more severe than we had previously assessed," James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, as he presented the annual worldwide threats assessment.
As they have in recent years, US intelligence agencies once again listed cyber attacks as the top danger to US national security, ahead of terrorism. Saboteurs, spies and thieves are expanding their computer attacks against a vulnerable American internet infrastructure, chipping away at US wealth and security over time, Clapper said.
If there is good news, he said, it is that a catastrophic destruction of infrastructure appears unlikely.
"Cyber threats to US national and economic security are increasing in frequency, scale, sophistication, and severity of impact," the written assessment says. "Rather than a 'Cyber Armageddon' scenario that debilitates the entire US infrastructure, we envision something different. We foresee an ongoing series of low- to- moderate level cyber attacks from a variety of sources over time, which will impose cumulative costs on US economic competitiveness and national security." (AP)