U.S. Needs New 'Manhattan Project' to Avoid Cyber Catastrophe
Photo by Mati Mango
BY JOHN RATCLIFFE AND ABRAHAM WAGNER
With the Ukrainian resistance bogging down Vladimir Putin's Red Army, Russia may turn more frequently to its cyberwarfare capabilities to inflict pain on Ukraine and the West. The Biden administration has explicitly warned U.S. companies of potential ransomware attacks in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russia, and American officials and pundits alike have used the term "Digital Pearl Harbor" to describe the potential danger. The United States is vulnerable to rapidly expanding cyber threats from Russia and a host of other adversaries. Without dramatic action, a cyber catastrophe is nearly inevitable—whether it happens now or in the future.
While the U.S. has maintained its primacy in conventional warfare capabilities, cyberspace has offered aspiring competitors, smaller authoritarian regimes and non-state actors an opportunity to level the playing field. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have distinguished themselves as the "big four" bad actors, using cyber tools to strengthen their military, intelligence services and police—and, unlike the U.S., these four also leverage cyber technology to support commercial activities. Their targets have ranged from U.S. elections and government personnel data to critical infrastructure and digital supply chains, receiving outsized returns on their investment in offensive cyber capabilities.
Yet while the cyber threat landscape has dramatically expanded, the U.S. response has been inadequate, both in terms of national organization and technical capabilities.
Read the rest of the publication on Newsweek.
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Dr. Abraham Wagner is a cybersecurity expert who has served in a number of positions within the U.S. Government. He has taught in this area at Columbia University and chaired the cybersecurity group on the Trump-Pence transition team.
John Ratcliffe served as the sixth U.S. Director of National Intelligence.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Pacific Council.
