It's well past time for strategic defenses and counterpunches on cybersecurity
No future American president should ever be placed in Joe Biden's unenviable position in Geneva this past week, meeting with an adversary capable of exploiting critical U.S. vulnerabilities in cyberspace for all the world to see. During the past year, the United States has shown itself largely impotent in trying to deter a Russian cyber offensive of escalating brazenness and sophistication, to include interference in elections, the largest-ever cyber infiltration of U.S. government computer systems with the SolarWinds hack, and recent ransomware attacks on critical U.S. infrastructure by Russian criminal groups that enjoy sanctuary courtesy of the Kremlin. Without an effective defense in place, our president is left with only threats of retaliation as leverage. We need a strategic defense initiative for cyber to change that equation.
The United States must treat this as a true "Sputnik" moment, recalling the Soviet Union's launch of the first satellite in 1957 that heralded the Cold War race for space superiority. Vladimir Putin's Russia will continue to press an asymmetric advantage in this equally critical national security domain until successfully deterred by stronger and more layered U.S. cyber defenses, combined with more potent and persuasive U.S. cyber counterpunches. As with the original Sputnik moment, the response requires a whole-of-nation effort to be successful, including government, the private sector, and an educated public ready for the challenge.
The good news is that the Biden administration and Congress have indicated that they grasp the gravity of the threat. A bipartisan Congressional majority, in the recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), established a new "cyber czar" position at the White House with important powers to coordinate cybersecurity actions across key national security agencies and departments.
President Biden nominated Chris Inglis as the first-ever national cyber director - an experienced leader who capped a three-decade career at the National Security Agency (NSA) by serving as its deputy director. Inglis was a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which issued its landmark report last year with more than 75 recommendations for overhauling national cybersecurity.
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