NSA Head: Number of Cyber-Attacks Against U.S. Critical Infrastructure Jumps, Federal Law Needed Now

As the U.S. Senate is poised to vote on adopting a far-reaching cyber-terrorism bill, the head of the National Security Agency (News - Alert) (NSA) announced there was a 17-fold jump in the number of computer attacks on American infrastructure between 2009 and 2011.

Gen. Keith Alexander said the attacks – which are increasingly aimed at “critical infrastructure” -- took place by criminal gangs, hackers and other nations against such infrastructure as cell phone networks, computer networks, electricity grids and water supplies.

An attack on such critical infrastructure could cause greater harm than financial crimes or acts of espionage on computers, according to The New York Times.

On Thursday, Alexander claimed the United States is not prepared to prevent such a major attack, The Times adds. The United States only ranks a three when it comes to being prepared for a large-scale cyber-attack – on a 1 to 10 range, Alexander said.

Alexander also echoed comments from other key leaders and companies, which have called for the Senate to approve a cyber-security bill proposed by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.)

The bill would allow the U.S. government to defend private computer networks – and the newest version of the bill calls for voluntary standards, according to The Washington Post.

Also, it has limited bipartisan support, and though opposed by IBM, the bill is supported by Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle (News - Alert), the Information Technology Industry Council and the National Defense Industrial Association. President Obama also supports the legislation, known as the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, S. 3414. It could be voted on this week.

“Microsoft (News - Alert) believes S. 3414 provides an appropriate framework to improve the security of government and critical infrastructure systems to address current threats," according to a letter from Fred Humphries (News - Alert), Microsoft vice president for Government Affairs. "The framework is flexible enough to permit future improvements to security − an important point since cyber threats evolve over time. The current bill as it stands seeks to advance these priorities and we continue to work to help ensure that any legislation is optimized to meet cyber security challenges while protecting civil liberties and privacy."

Among those concerned about the bill are companies which want to avoid expenses from new regulations on networks, and those concerned with privacy rights.

Meanwhile, Lieberman, who is Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman, and Collins, who is the ranking member on the committee, Friday said the number of these cyber-attacks show the “urgent need” for cyber-security legislation.

“As head of the NSA, General Alexander is a trusted voice on the risk of cyber attacks against U.S. networks and our nation’s lack of preparedness for a catastrophic attack,” Lieberman and Collins said in a joint statement. “A 17-fold increase in the number of cyber attacks, a growing number targeted at our critical infrastructure, is a stark warning that we delay improving our defense at our own peril. Defense of our most critical networks, largely owned by the private sector, is vital to our national security and economic prosperity.”

Earlier in July, Alexander claimed that cyber-attacks are “the greatest transfer of wealth in history.” The cost of stolen intellectual property from U.S. companies was valued at $250 billion a year, according to a report from TechZone360. Cybercrime, worldwide, costs about $114 billion a year. It is twice that when downtime is included in estimates, Alexander said. Also, $1 trillion was spent worldwide on remediation from cyber-attacks, according to data from McAfee.

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