With no plan to respond to cyberattacks, US risks reliving 9/11

In the wake of a widespread cyberattack, the United States could face the same lack of coordination and preparedness the nation experienced after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because the government has not developed clear policies for how to respond, a panel of current and former federal security officials said on Monday. "In terms of terrorism response, I think we're getting well-practiced and well-organized. We are an efficient nation," said Gen. Michael Hayden, principal at consulting firm Chertoff Group and former Bush Administration director of the CIA. "Not so with the new age threat of cyberattacks, [where] we are not well-organized. It's very unclear who would be in charge of response." As a result, the federal response to a cyberattack could resemble what happened on Sept. 12, 2001, the day after the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked, said Hayden. The government would pull together people to "frankly act like a committee, because we don't have any other alternative" strategy in place to define how federal, state and local government and the private sector will respond, he added.