Yesterday, Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee’s annual hearing on worldwide threats. Mr. Clapper prioritized the threat of cyber attacks above all other threats. “Our statement this year leads with cyber, and it’s hard to overemphasize its significance,” said Clapper, reading a statement on behalf of himself, FBI Director Robert Mueller, CIA Director John Brennan and National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen.”
Clapper’s testimony aligns him closely with Secretary of Defense Hagel’s position. Having been a tech entrepreneur in the 1980s, Secretary Hagel is said to, ‘get it’ when it comes to cyber and is even considering whether to elevate the current US cyber defense apparatus to independent Combat Command status.
Coincident with Mr. Clapper’s testimony to Congress, the CIA issued its annual Worldwide Threat Assessment which can be found here. Below is the Table of Contents listing Cyber as the #1 global threat to US security.
