Trump is rattling sabers in cyberspace -- but is the U.S. ready?
While cyber defenses are improving, some experts worry about how the U.S. would recover from an even larger strike.
By MICHAEL B. FARRELL and GAVIN BADE 07/13/2019 06:39 AM EDT
The Trump administration is sending aggressive messages about the United States' willingness to hack its adversaries — alarming lawmakers and experts who fear he’s provoking a global cyber-conflict that the U.S. may not be prepared to face.
A U.S. cyberattack last month on Iranian military and intelligence targets was one of the most prominent signs of the new approach, which followed a reported effort to implant hostile computer code in Russia's electric grid and a temporary takedown of a notorious Kremlin-backed troll operation last fall.
To supporters, the tactics are a sign that the U.S. may finally be getting out of its defensive crouch in cyberspace — as advocated by hawks like National Security Adviser John Bolton.
But the moves also lay the potential groundwork for a tit-for-tat wave of cyberattacks that could inflict significant damage on bystanders. Targets such as banks, hospitals, oil companies and electric utilities in the U.S. and elsewhere have already proven vulnerable, as seen in recent criminal hacks that have paralyzed entities such as Baltimore's city government.
Now, both Republican and Democratic members of Congress are pressing the White House for details about its offensive cyber strategies, worried that unchecked operations could be dangerously destabilizing for the U.S.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/13/trump-cybersecurity-defense-1415650