US 'underprepared for cyber attacks on CNI' says CYBERCOM chief

The United States scores just three out of ten when it comes to preparedness for a serious cyber attack on a critical part of the country's national infrastructure, according to the commander of US Cyber Command and head of the National Security Agency, General Keith Alexander.

Speaking at the Aspen Institute's annual security forum on 27 July, Gen Alexander told the audience that the US was underprepared for combating this type of cyber attack but that defending a nation was complex and involved many aspects, including preparing Department of Defense (DoD) and federal networks, setting network infrastructure standards and educating users about developing a strong cyber security infrastructure.

Gen Alexander also took the opportunity to support legislation that gives the Department of Homeland Security a greater role in setting performance requirements for industry, allows companies suffering from network attacks to share information with the government and between themselves more easily and rewards those who adhere to future security standards. Furthermore, this legislation could also form the basis of an offensive cyber capability.