Nakasone: U.S. adversaries have no fear of reprisal for cyberattacks
The United States’ adversaries, like Russin and China, continue to hack into U.S. companies and government agencies because they aren’t afraid of retaliation, the Army general expected to be confirmed as the next head of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command said.
Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone told senators at a congressional hearing Thursday that he doesn’t believe U.S. adversaries in cyberspace fear any repercussions for conducting hacking campaigns and cyber-espionage.
Responding to a line of questioning from Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska., who called the U.S. “the cyber punching bag of the world”, Nakasone said that countries known to target the U.S. in cyberattacks are not deterred by U.S. policy.
“I would say right now they do not think that much will happen to them,” Nakasone said. “They don’t fear us.”
He added: “The longer that we have inactivity, the longer that our adversaries are able to establish their own norms.”
Read more about Thursday’s hearing on CyberScoop.
