Sen. Cardin: Technology Can Prevent – and Increase – Cyber Attacks
By Joy Howell
Board Member
Safe Internet Alliance
“The modern day bank robbers don’t have to use hoods and masks and guns and go into banks. They can invade our financial institutions and steal money from depositors.”
Senator Ben Cardin used this sobering analogy during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing yesterday, Tuesday, November 17, titled, “Cybersecurity: Preventing Terrorist Attacks and Protecting Privacy in Cyberspace”.
The hearing included witnesses from key federal agencies responsible for cybersecurity, as well as representatives of the private sector. It reviewed governmental and private sector efforts to prevent a terrorist cyber attack that could cripple large sectors of our government, economy, and essential services.
Sen. Cardin described increased risks to our most personal and private individual information (such as financial and health data) and emerging threats to our military intelligence and basic infrastructure capabilities from cyber criminals and others who would like to cause harm.
It is a frightening proposition, but a possibility nonetheless. As cooperation between the private sector and the federal government becomes more important to prevent security breaches, experts from leading government agencies and the private sector testified that it is possible maintain our civil liberties while protecting our most important national security and personal information in an increasingly online world.
Senator Cardin noted that a recent story on the news program “60 Minutes” highlighted some of these same scenarios. To see what more about the show’s coverage of cyber attacks, click here