Prepare for Cyber Armageddon

The United States is woefully unprepared to deal with the inevitability of a major cyber attack. Recent hacks of private companies such as Sony, Home Depot, Target and the like are warnings of greater dangers to come; like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. These companies don’t represent critical infrastructure such as the power grid, banking system, food distribution and storage or air traffic control. A successful attack on any one of these could bring this country to its knees.

The Internet was never intended to be secure. Neither is much of the software in use today by individuals, companies and even governments. As anyone with security software on their PCs or devices knows, they receive a continuous stream of updates as security companies such as McAfee strive diligently to stay abreast of the threat.

Some parts of the private sector do make an effort to secure their networks. But most companies either don’t know what to do, don’t want to spend the money or don’t even now see the necessity. This is why cyber security experts both inside and outside government  like to speak about the possibility of a cyber “Pearl Harbor” as the necessary galvanizing event that will force the nation to address its vulnerability to cyber attack.

In a way, a cyber Pearl Harbor is actually a comforting metaphor. To be sure, it was a tragic event heralding U.S. involvement in a world war. But within six months, this country was on the offensive. Most of the ships sunk on December 7 were raised and rejoined the Fleet.  The Arsenal of Democracy swung into high gear.

Given how unprepared we are, a serious cyber attack may look more like Armageddon than Pearl Harbor.  Prospective adversaries, including Iran and North Korea in addition to Russia and China, are reported to be assiduously working to penetrate the control systems for our critical infrastructure. Were they able to bring down our power grid, for example, the results would be catastrophic.

It is vital that the United States develop the doctrine, operational concepts and capabilities to deter such attacks and, as necessary, defend the nation. This is as important, perhaps even more so, than deterring a nuclear strike on the homeland or defending against another 9/11.

This article originally appeared on the Early Warning Blog, a publication of the Lexington Institute.