U.S. adversaries are raising their cyber game, intel officials warn

WASHINGTON — All four of the United States’ main global adversaries are investing heavily in offensive cyber capabilities and are more likely to use digital attacks to gain a strategic advantage, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told lawmakers this week.

That assessment underscores how the United States is far more vulnerable in cyberspace than on the battlefield, in the air or at sea, where it remains superior to its adversaries.

As a result, the cyberattack capabilities of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are “growing in potency and severity” and “threatening both minds and machines in an expanding number of ways,” Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee during an annual hearing on worldwide threats.

“As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, we expect these actors to rely more and more on cyber capabilities when seeking to gain political, economic and military advantages over the United States and its allies and partners,” Coats said.

He described all four nations in written testimony as capable of launching cyberattacks against critical infrastructure such as energy or electrical systems, which could cause, at least, temporary disruptions to American life.

Moscow, in particular, “is mapping our critical infrastructure with the long-term goal of being able to cause substantial damage,” according to the testimony. Here are four big takeaways from the hearing:

WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES FBI Director Christopher Wray (left); CIA Director Gina Haspel; Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats; and Gen. Robert Ashley, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, testify Tuesday at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on “Worldwide Threats” in Washington, D.C. The intelligence leaders discussed North Korea, Russia, China and cybersecurity, among other topics.