Technology and Security
Cyber attacks pose an increasingly large threat to US security. Donald Trump has declared a national emergency regarding threats along the border with Mexico, though a recent Worldwide Threat Assessment from Daniel Coats, the US Director of National Intelligence barely mentions border security. Instead, it emphasizes cyber threats from Russia, China, and to a degree North Korea and Iran. The public should understand the nature of these threats, and what they can do to protect themselves.
One facet of cyber attacks is large, temporarily disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure. For example, China has the ability to disrupt a natural gas pipeline for days or weeks (Coats, 5). Russia has the ability to disrupt electrical grids for a few hours, which they have previously done to the Ukraine in 2015 and 2016 (Coats, 6). Moscow is currently mapping out US infrastructure for this purpose. Iran has been preparing to disrupt large corporate networks, which they have previously done to the Saudi government in 2016 and 2017 (Coats, 6). There's not much the public can do to mitigate these threats, but by knowing they exist we can have a more realistic perspective on the other threats described by the Trump administration.
The other major cyber threat is espionage. China has been known to alter information online to shape Chinese views, and now it is expanding its ability to affect the foreign public's opinion of China, particularly in relation to China, Tibet, and human rights (Coats, 7). Russia will continue to focus on social media, "aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities, and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians" (Coats, 7). Iran has launched similar social media efforts to to influence in line with Iranian interests. Additionally, Coats believes there will be attempts to use Deep Fakes to help these efforts. If the public knows about these threats, and the efforts of foreign governments, they can effectively nullify them by recognizing fake news and disinformation attempts.
Coats' statement barely mentions issues with Mexico. When it does, it describes an influx of fentanyl smuggling (Coats, 18), as well as some economic concerns (Coats, 20). There is no mention of violence due to illegal immigration. The threats facing the United States are primarily technological and the recent national emergency is entirely off base. If the public had a better understanding of the magnitude and nature of cyber threats to the United States, the country would be safer and more unified, and there would be a stronger engagement in news and politics.
United States, Congress, Coats, Daniel R. “Statement for the Record, Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community.” Statement for the Record, Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community.
One facet of cyber attacks is large, temporarily disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure. For example, China has the ability to disrupt a natural gas pipeline for days or weeks (Coats, 5). Russia has the ability to disrupt electrical grids for a few hours, which they have previously done to the Ukraine in 2015 and 2016 (Coats, 6). Moscow is currently mapping out US infrastructure for this purpose. Iran has been preparing to disrupt large corporate networks, which they have previously done to the Saudi government in 2016 and 2017 (Coats, 6). There's not much the public can do to mitigate these threats, but by knowing they exist we can have a more realistic perspective on the other threats described by the Trump administration.
The other major cyber threat is espionage. China has been known to alter information online to shape Chinese views, and now it is expanding its ability to affect the foreign public's opinion of China, particularly in relation to China, Tibet, and human rights (Coats, 7). Russia will continue to focus on social media, "aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities, and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians" (Coats, 7). Iran has launched similar social media efforts to to influence in line with Iranian interests. Additionally, Coats believes there will be attempts to use Deep Fakes to help these efforts. If the public knows about these threats, and the efforts of foreign governments, they can effectively nullify them by recognizing fake news and disinformation attempts.
Coats' statement barely mentions issues with Mexico. When it does, it describes an influx of fentanyl smuggling (Coats, 18), as well as some economic concerns (Coats, 20). There is no mention of violence due to illegal immigration. The threats facing the United States are primarily technological and the recent national emergency is entirely off base. If the public had a better understanding of the magnitude and nature of cyber threats to the United States, the country would be safer and more unified, and there would be a stronger engagement in news and politics.
United States, Congress, Coats, Daniel R. “Statement for the Record, Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community.” Statement for the Record, Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community.
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