Intelligence chiefs warn that cyberattacks are nation’s top security threat

The nation’s top intelligence officials told senators that cyberattacks are the leading security threat facing the United States. Testifying at the Senate Intelligence Committee’s annual hearing on worldwide threats, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told lawmakers that terrorist groups are increasingly pursuing the ability to wage cyberattacks, which, if successful, could bring businesses and the government to a collapsing halt.

“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. “Increasingly state and non-state actors are gaining and using cyber expertise,” he said. “These capabilities put all sectors of our country at risk, from government and private networks to critical infrastructures. We see indications that some terrorist organizations are interested in developing offensive cyber capabilities, and as cyber criminals are using a growing black market to sell cyber tools that fall into the hands of state and non-state actors.”