Lawmaker: Cyberattacks against U.S. getting worse
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. is vulnerable to cyberattacks that could shut down financial services or destroy information that companies need for daily operations, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday.
Rep. Mike Rogers says 95 percent of private sector networks are vulnerable and most have already been hit.
What's being stolen? Personal identities, Social Security numbers, money from banks, blueprints for next-generation jobs. At risk are private companies and public agencies. Some estimates put the value of information hacked at up to $400 billion a year. But many companies are reluctant to admit they've been attacked to keep a competitive edge and avoid reactions from shareholders.
The Michigan Republican says hackers have stepped up attacks since the fall, and he points to China and Iran.
"They're taking blueprints back, not just military documents, but civilian innovation that companies are gonna use to create production lines to build things," Rogers said. "They're stealing that, repurposing it back in nations like China and competing in the international market."
Rogers tells CBS' "Face the Nation" that the U.S. government has, essentially "set up lawn chairs, told the burglars where the silver is ... and opened the case of beer and watched them do it."
A bipartisan bill to shore up the nation's cyberdefenses passed the House, but died in the Senate in the last Congress. Similar legislation could be introduced again as early as this week.
For Rogers, the fix is "very simple."
" Share information about threats online," he said. "The senior leadership in the intelligence community said that they think that we can stop 90 percent of our problems by just sharing classified cyber threat information."
Rep. Mike Rogers says 95 percent of private sector networks are vulnerable and most have already been hit.
What's being stolen? Personal identities, Social Security numbers, money from banks, blueprints for next-generation jobs. At risk are private companies and public agencies. Some estimates put the value of information hacked at up to $400 billion a year. But many companies are reluctant to admit they've been attacked to keep a competitive edge and avoid reactions from shareholders.
The Michigan Republican says hackers have stepped up attacks since the fall, and he points to China and Iran.
"They're taking blueprints back, not just military documents, but civilian innovation that companies are gonna use to create production lines to build things," Rogers said. "They're stealing that, repurposing it back in nations like China and competing in the international market."
Rogers tells CBS' "Face the Nation" that the U.S. government has, essentially "set up lawn chairs, told the burglars where the silver is ... and opened the case of beer and watched them do it."
A bipartisan bill to shore up the nation's cyberdefenses passed the House, but died in the Senate in the last Congress. Similar legislation could be introduced again as early as this week.
For Rogers, the fix is "very simple."
" Share information about threats online," he said. "The senior leadership in the intelligence community said that they think that we can stop 90 percent of our problems by just sharing classified cyber threat information."
First of all,,,  classified info should NOT be connected to the internet,,,  period,,,,,  because there are "built in" back doors in MSDOS based programs,,,  the hackers find them and then you have to update,,,  ongoing tit for tat that makes billions,,,  for someone,,,  not much hacking going on with Macs,,  linux  or  unix.Â
I have said it before and I will say it again: BLOCK ALL IPs from Iran, China and N. Korea. When they scoff, tell them tough *&^#%@!!
 @Just a dude not sure that will work as people and university get bot netted all the time and used to go after targets... they are not hacking the Gibson here ... if companies want to be secure 99.9% safe from this the solution is to go offline ... of course in the information age a company disconnecting itself from the net is unheard of!
 @Freespeech  @Just a dude I agree to a small point but the govts of China and Iran WANT to stay connected. Think of this as sanctions on the countries for not taking enough action to stop this. Like we don't know that the govts are FUNDING these attacks. A threat of disconnect would carry some serious weight.
No, really? You mean to tell me that once you use a weapon against an "enemy" they might use it against you? Say it aint so, Joe. When we cyber attacked Iran, we left them with a weapon and now they use it, what a surprise, and we pay these people?
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Wasn't that the one biggest lesson learned from the cold war? What about US drones attacks on countries that we are not even at war with? How are you US citizens going to deal with retaliatory drone attacks on US cities? Schools? Churches, and anywhere else people congregate?
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Its coming folks, a time to pay up for allowing everything this country has done to innocent families world wide.