I just read an opinion editorial in the Wall Street Journal that really did clarify the new threat we are faced with this last decade. "Ten years ago, the 9/11 Commission Report triggered the most significant reorganization of the U.S. intelligence community since 1947. Two months ago, the former members of the commission—we are among them—issued a new report assessing where national security stands, 13 years after the most devastating attacks on America's homeland.
Most of the new report's observations focused on counterterrorism, the central focus of the 9/11 Commission. But in speaking with many of the nation's most senior national-security leaders, we were struck that every one of these experts expressed concern about another issue: daily cyberattacks against the country's most sensitive public and private computer networks.
A growing chorus of national-security experts describes the cyber realm as the battlefield of the future. We are at war in the digital world. And yet, because this war lacks attention-grabbing explosions and body bags, the American people remain largely unaware of the danger. That needs to change."
Could not have said it better myself, and am thrilled to see this in the WSJ, because it needs to penetrate into the C-level suite. Messrs. Kean and Hamilton served as chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission and make the case for a National Cyber Commission, and a National Cyber Center, which would bring together government and private experts to ensure
unity of effort, similar to the National Counterterrorism Center, created 10 years ago in response to a 9/11 Commission recommendation, which is working well.
"In recent months, we have heard time and again from leading experts that the cyber threat is serious—and that the government is not doing enough. One lesson of the 9/11 story is that, as a nation, we didn't awaken to the gravity of the terrorist threat until it was too late. We must not repeat that mistake in the cyber realm."
Please forward this blog post to everyone that needs to know! Original Article in WSJ (paywall):
http://online.wsj.com/articles/tom-kean-and-lee-hamilton-a-new-threat-grows-amid-shades-of-9-11-1410390195
