National Cybersecurity
Threats to the Information Infrastructure and the Federal Response
Advancements in technology have revolutionized the way much of the world communicates and conducts business. At the same time, global interconnectivity poses significant risks to national computer systems and the critical infrastructures they support ― including power grids, water supplies, telecommunications networks, and financial institutions. President Obama has called the growing number of cyber-attacks “one of the most serious economic and national security threats our nation faces.” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before Congress that roughly 60,000 new malicious computer programs are identified each day, some of which are defined as “advanced, persistent threats, which are difficult to…
