FBI Warns of Sweeping Global Threat To US Cybersecurity

GovIT Geek writes "The FBI's newly appointed chief of cyber security warned today that 'a couple dozen' countries are eager to hack US government, corporate, and military networks. While he refused to provide country-specific details, FBI Cyber Division Chief Shawn Henry told reporters at a roundtable that cooperation with foreign law enforcement is one of the Bureau's highest priorities and added the United States has had incredible success fostering overseas partnerships."

Comments

Just come out and say it.

[MikeRT]

China is at the top of the list of countries that want to see us thrown on the trash heap of history. Feel better now? The biggest threat we face, practically speaking, is from people on our own soil.

One of the major problems we face is Chinese nationals who are now "citizens" (quotes used to denote legal status with no inner patriotism) of the United States. Some of our biggest security violations on classified and controlled technologies have come from people of Chinese descent who have basically retained their loyalty to China, even though they carry citizenship.

What do we do about this? I think the answer is pretty clear. Most Chinese who become Americans are loyal, so the clear answer is to just leave them alone and viciously punish people who trade in controlled technologies to foreign governments. If we executed a few people who sold classified warplane technology to foreign governments, it might make the filthy lucre their governments are offering look nowhere near as enticing.

Most Americans just don't get that in much of the world, ethnicity actually means something pretty profound to the average person. It's one of biggest reasons why people on our own soil betray our trust to foreign governments. The only way we can override that in most cases is to stop being so limp-wristed toward people who break our espionage and export laws, and start seriously ruining the lives of people who break these laws.

The beauty of a deterrence policy based on the certainty that betraying any technology classified Secret or higher will carry at least life in prison without parole, is that it will make preventative surveillance less necessary.