Director Mueller on the Future of Cyber Security

Aug 08, 2013 05:30 PM

Director Mueller on the Future of Cyber Security

Director Mueller speaks at the fourth annual International Conference on Cyber Security at Fordham University in New York City on August 8, 2013.

Director Robert Mueller spoke today on the future on online threats at the International Conference on Cyber Security hosted by the FBI and Fordham University this week in New York City.
Joining the heads of the CIA and National Security Agency at a keynote roundtable, the Director predicted that the cyber threat will “equal or even eclipse the terrorist threat” and pointed to the “proliferation of adversaries in the cyber arena” in recent years.
“As you have discussed this week, these criminals are constantly discovering and exploiting vulnerabilities in our software and our networks,” he said. “They have also become increasingly professional: They are organized…they network…and they share tools, stolen data, and know-how.”

	Audience members listen to panelists at the International Conference on Cyber Security in New York.

From the FBI’s perspective, Director Mueller said that it is important to combat the threat by “focusing on the individuals behind the keyboards” and using traditional law enforcement and intelligence capabilities to identify and stop them. “We must remember that behind every intrusion is a person responsible … a warm body behind the keyboard, whether he or she sits in Tehran or Tucson; Shanghai or Seattle; Bucharest or the Bronx,” he said. And whether these individuals are “state actors, organized criminal groups, or 18-year-old hackers,” the Director noted, “we must devise a response that is effective, not just against that specific attack, but for all similar circumstances.”
Describing such successful joint ventures as the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, InfraGard, and the Domestic Security Alliance Council, the Director stressed the need to further “expand the channels of information sharing and collaboration.”
“Only by sharing intelligence swiftly will we be able to forecast coming attacks—and deter future ones,” the Director said. “By fusing private-sector information with information from the intelligence community, we can produce a complete picture of cyber threats—one that benefits all of us."

http://www.fbi.gov/news/news_blog