When Capitol Hill worries about the possibility of a major cyber attack, the question is “not if it will happen, but when it will happen” according to Rep. Steve Israel, D-Huntington. Long Island has the potential of becoming America’s technological bulwark against such attacks, Israel said, speaking on the ”Cybersecurity & Data Breaches” panel in Bethpage on Tuesday.
“Everybody in Washington knows that the likelihood of a significant cyberattack on our critical infrastructure is massive; it’s happening now,” Israel said, speaking before a crowd of about 150. “The magnitude of these attacks has increased exponentially – a 17-fold increase in cyber attacks against our critical infrastructure from 2009 to 2011 and a 680 percent increase in cyberattacks on federal government systems since 2010.”
The panel, which also included Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Shirley, and four cyber security experts, addressed the scope of the problem, listing which data is vulnerable and what companies and individuals can do to shield themselves before an attack. These points were not lost on the event’s attendees, most of whom said they were previously victims of hacks.
“Our whole entire lives are now getting interconnected which should be a very positive thing. But, we have a weak underbelly,” Zeldin pointed out. “It will be the responsibility of everyone who is in charge of any piece of that system that’s completely interconnected to do whatever they can to beef up their own security.”
Hosted by Long Island Business News and moderated by Editor Joe Dowd at Carlyle on the Green, the panel also featured Blake Cornell, chief technology officer of Integris Security, Jay Grant, a cyberexpert with Culhane Associates and Gregg Knepper, president of Integrated Coverage Group.
“Security now is everybody’s business,” warned Scott Schober, a cyber security expert and the president and CEO of Berkeley Varitronics Systems. Weak and reused passwords, he added, are a leading vulnerability that hackers exploit. “All around, awareness and understanding of this comes in as step one of best practices,” he noted.
Israel, who serves on the Appropriations Committee and the Defense Subcommittee in Congress and is a strong supporter of national security programs, presented a grim picture of where the nation currently stands on the issue.
Israel noted that when former Director of the National Security Agency Keith B. Alexander was asked what grade he would give to the U.S. government on protecting the country from a massive cyber attack with ten being “airtight, invincible,” and one being “9/11 all over again,” the head of cyber command could only give a three at best.
Recently, the House of Representatives passed the Protected Cyber Network Act, which enables private entities and the federal government to share information about how develop the best practices for security, but the bill may sit in the Senate for a while, Israel said.
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