The tone and intensity of conversations about national cyber security in the United States has changed significantly in the past 10 days. Recently, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a statement in an interview with Fox News that is now reverberating around the world, with the greatest reaction here in the United States. In that statement he openly acknowledged that while the U.S. is clearly the dominant military in land, sea, air and space, we do not share that same position in the cyber domain. He went on to express his concerns about our peer competitors in the cyber domain and that when it comes to this domain of operation, it is a level playing field.
This is by far the most open acknowledgement of the military, defense and intelligence challenges when it comes to cyber domain. For years now subject matter experts have warned that the cost of the infrastructure required to develop and launch cyber weapons is small. Every country, criminal enterprise, terrorist group and even individuals can compete on the world stage when it comes to cyber capabilities. The knowledge and information components that are used to create these weapons are both widely available. The only limitation in this domain of conflict is the technical capabilities of individuals and how creative and innovative they can be in the design and development of these weapons. In a recent meeting cyber weapons were referred to as "The Great Equalizer." Cyber weapons, even advanced ones are within the financial constraints of every nation-state, terrorist group and the majority of criminal organizations. Another pointed out that for once, "We can't spend our way out of this." Let's face it, when compared to a cruise missile, cyber weapons are extremely cheap to acquire.
With such stark acknowledgements of the cyber risk we face, business, government and nations around the world are anxiously waiting to see how the U.S. will address this threat. Clearly the clock is ticking!
