The United States is not prepared to deal with the emerging threats against the country’s digital infrastructure, warned cybersecurity experts at a recent U.S. Senate Commerce Committee meeting. The experts also said that Congress needs to make information security and security education a bigger priority. “The simplest way to state this is the nation is under attack,” said Purdue University professor Eugene Spafford, executive director of the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security. “It is a hostile attack, it is a continuing attack, and it has been going on for years, and we have been ignoring it.” James Lewis, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said cyberattacks threaten the long-term economic competitiveness and technological leadership of the United States. Senate Commerce Committee chairman John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said he is encouraged by President Obama’s focus on cybersecurity, but cautioned that time is critical as computers are increasingly being used to manage the country’s infrastructure. Rockefeller said he plans to introduce legislation that would boost cybersecurity education at the university level. Spafford said the U.S. needs more cybersecurity experts and noted that universities graduate just 50 to 60 Ph.D.s in fields related to cybersecurity. “Of those perhaps 10 to 15 are going to return to their home countries to start businesses to compete against the U.S. because our visa policies won’t let them stay,” he said.
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Tags: Cybersecurity
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