As America winds down from four years of horrific mismanagement at the hands of the incompetent Biden administration, few issues stand as glaringly urgent as America’s cyber vulnerabilities. For President Trump, who is returning to the Oval Office amid a torrent of pressing global concerns, cybersecurity represents a battlefield that demands not only rhetoric, but bold, decisive action.
It is a battlefield plagued with the potholes of bureaucratic inertia, technological lag, and perhaps most alarmingly, a talent shortage that threatens to leave the U.S. woefully unprepared for the cyber onslaughts ahead.
Microsoft, the Silicon Valley titan that holds the reins of countless federal contracts, has emerged as an unexpected cheerleader for stronger cybersecurity efforts from the Trump administration. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, has issued urgent calls for the U.S. government to take a tougher stance on cyberattacks emanating from Russia, China, and Iran. However, before we rush to brand Microsoft as the paladin of cybersecurity, let us not forget the tech giant’s patchy track record.
Despite pocketing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to bolster U.S. cyber defenses, Microsoft has been implicated in hundreds of breaches, many of them alarmingly high profile. Critics might say this is akin to hiring a security guard who leaves the vault door ajar and then suggests installing more locks. Yet Microsoft’s calls are not without merit; the company has a point when urging the administration to tackle state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups with greater urgency.
Speaking of APTs, the danger posed by state-sponsored hacking collectives is as pervasive as it is sophisticated. Countries including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea have turned cyber warfare into a lucrative national sport. China’s Gelsemium group, for instance, has been linked to a sinister Linux backdoor called WolfsBane, a malware capable of infiltrating critical systems with stealthy precision. Meanwhile, Russia’s Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear groups continue to target Western governments, private enterprises, and election systems with brazen impunity. […]
— Read More: pjmedia.com
