The White House's top cybersecurity official talks to Kara Swisher about preventing a cyberwar.
By Caitlin O'Keefe Producer, Opinion Audio |
As the ground war in Ukraine rages on, there's another battle developing behind the scenes — the one in cyberspace. |
In the lead-up to the Russian invasion, the United States attributed attacks against the Ukrainian government and banks to Russia. Since then, Google has reported that it's seen phishing attacks against Ukrainian officials coming from hackers in Russia and Belarus. Meta says it discovered hackers targeting military officials and public figures in Ukraine. |
Anne Neuberger, the White House's top cybersecurity official, is working directly with Ukraine's government to help it bolster its cyber defenses. |
"They've really worked to improve cybersecurity in the last number of years, but it's far harder to defend than to attack," Neuberger said. "And the Russians do have a very capable cyber offense program." |
But helping Ukraine is only part of Neuberger's job. She is also trying to prevent a more global cyber war — especially given recent reports of attacks against U.S. natural gas suppliers and exporters, including Chevron. |
As for how America is preparing to defend itself, Neuberger says she has a three-part strategy. "First, above all, harden systems, because at their root technology is full of vulnerabilities." |
"Second, warn. Let's create a sense of urgency in the private sector to do the kinds of things that do have impact. Locking digital doors, putting on a digital alarm system. And then finally, ensure that we make it harder for attackers to conduct disruptive operations." |
And while cyber warfare can feel remote, and like something that only government officials have the power to prevent, citizens have a role here too: Don't rely on that old password scribbled in a notebook somewhere. Because chances are you may have reused it — and that makes all of your accounts more vulnerable to attack. |
"Passwords are absolutely dead," Neuberger says. "So use multi-factor authentication." |
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