Joe Biden warns of cyberattacks resulting in ‘real shooting war’
- In first visit to a US intelligence agency, Joe Biden warns of cyber conflict
- Biden mentions Russia and China as growing threats to US national security
Cybersecurity has risen to the top of the agenda for the Biden administration after a series of high-profile attacks on entities such as network management company SolarWinds, the Colonial Pipeline company, meat processing company JBS and software firm Kaseya hurt the US far beyond just the companies hacked. Some of the attacks affected fuel and food supplies in parts of the United States.
“I think it’s more than likely we’re going to end up, if we end up in a war – a real shooting war with a major power – it’s going to be as a consequence of a cyber breach of great consequence and it’s increasing exponentially, the capabilities,” Biden said during a half-hour speech while visiting the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
Since then, senior members of the Biden administration’s national security team have been in constant contact with senior members of the Kremlin over cyberattacks on the United States, the White House has said.