At a cybersecurity panel held at One World Trade Center, top former national security leaders and industry executives warned that U.S. critical infrastructure remains dangerously exposed to foreign cyber threats due to basic security failures, Nextgov/FCW reports.
Despite growing buzz around AI and quantum computing, the panel emphasized that essential protections, like firewalls, patching, and authentication, are still missing in many sectors, particularly among smaller and downstream providers. Dragos CEO Robert M. Lee and American Electric Powers Bill Fehrman stressed that attackers exploit these foundational gaps, with Lee noting that energy grid modernization has increased attack surfaces. Former NSA head Gen. Paul Nakasone called for stricter compliance standards and enhanced private-public sharing agreements to "make the U.S. more toxic" to cyber adversaries. Former FBI Director Christopher Wray highlighted the urgency of scaling up collaboration to reach less mature infrastructure operators. The panel's stark message: focus must return to cyber hygiene and execution before adversaries exploit the nations weakest digital links.
Despite growing buzz around AI and quantum computing, the panel emphasized that essential protections, like firewalls, patching, and authentication, are still missing in many sectors, particularly among smaller and downstream providers. Dragos CEO Robert M. Lee and American Electric Powers Bill Fehrman stressed that attackers exploit these foundational gaps, with Lee noting that energy grid modernization has increased attack surfaces. Former NSA head Gen. Paul Nakasone called for stricter compliance standards and enhanced private-public sharing agreements to "make the U.S. more toxic" to cyber adversaries. Former FBI Director Christopher Wray highlighted the urgency of scaling up collaboration to reach less mature infrastructure operators. The panel's stark message: focus must return to cyber hygiene and execution before adversaries exploit the nations weakest digital links.
