On Tuesday, top American spy officials said cyberattacks are getting worse — and it’s time to set basic international rules to prevent a future catastrophe.<\/p>\n
“Cyber threats to U.S. national and economic security are increasing in frequency, scale, sophistication and severity of impact,” U.S. national intelligence director James Clapper warned the Senate Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n
Cold War-era spying continues. Every nation does it — including the United States — and professional government hacker spies play a lead role.<\/p>\n
But nations haven’t yet figured out what kind of hacking goes too far. Secretly gaining control of a nuclear power plant’s computers? Stealing highly private personnel records?<\/p>\n
And, most importantly, when does hacking become an act of war? “We’re still working our way through that issue,” said U.S. Navy Admiral Mike Rogers, who also testified.<\/p>\n
Rogers leads the NSA and America’s military hacking operations. When a senator asked him about defining a red line, Rogers said: “It has to be something that’s communicated that generates… a sense of consequence” and deters attackers from hacking in the first place.<\/p>\n
Without that, cyberattacks will continue at an alarming pace, officials warned.<\/p>\n