WASHINGTON – A new study warns that the U.S. must develop cyber intelligence as a new and better coordinated government discipline that can predict computer-related threats and deter them.
The report by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance says the dramatic expansion of sophisticated cyber-attacks has moved beyond acceptable losses for government and businesses that simply threaten finances or intellectual property.
“The impact has increased in magnitude, and the potential for catastrophic collapse of a company has grown,” said the report, which is slated to be released later this month. It adds that it is not clear that the business community understands or accepts that.
The report comes amid growing worries the U.S. is not prepared for a major cyberattack, even as hackers, criminals and nation states continue to probe and infiltrate government and critical business networks millions of times a day.
INSA, a non-partisan national security organization, says the U.S. must develop strategies beyond the current “patch and pray” procedures, create cyber intelligence policies, coordinate and share intelligence better among government agencies and businesses, and increase research on attack attribution and warnings.