Biden cybersecurity chief ‘surprised’ Russia has not hit US targets amid Ukraine war

The Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Jen Easterly, has expressed surprise that Russia has not targeted critical infrastructure in the United States amidst President Biden coordinating an international effort against Russian President Vladimir Putin due to his invasion of Ukraine. “Frankly, I’m surprised that we have not seen attacks against critical infrastructure at home”, Easterly told Washington Examiner.

Easterly attributed the lack of “a specific strike” to the likelihood it would be perceived by Biden as “highly escalatory”. She also pointed out that Russia has been focusing a lot on cyber activities against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure during the ongoing conflict.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has been collaborating with Ukraine on cyber defense and is set to work closely with neighboring countries like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland that have also faced pressure from Russia, as CISA’s Computer Emergency Response Team helps Ukraine with its cyber defense.

Easterly also highlighted that China is now the biggest worry about national security risks the country faces. “When you look at the lessons that we’re learning from Ukraine, and you think about the lessons that China is learning from Ukraine, they’re not going to make the mistake of not going against our critical infrastructure. They’re going to cost all that in when they decide to blockade the strait or invade Taiwan”, she said.

The cybersecurity chief also referred to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and highlighted the need for serious discussion about how to realign incentives for the technology, as it could be weaponized by bad people for cyber, genetic engineering or bioweapons.

Easterly served in the National Security Agency, former President Barack Obama’s National Security Council, and civilian cybersecurity at Morgan Stanley. She also warned about the significant threat posed by the Chinese-owned social media app, TikTok, which she said sends data back to China, an adversary nation that has spied on US data in the past.