US poll finds 3 in 4 Americans view China, Russia as major cybersecurity threats

About 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about hacking that involves their personal information, banks, government agencies or certain utilities

The explosion in the last year of ransomware has underscored how gangs of extortionist hackers can disrupt the economy and put lives and livelihoods at risk

Reading Time:3 minutes

Shutterstock Royalty-free stock photo ID: 1097913926 Digital crime by an anonymous hacker. Digital crime by an anonymous hacker. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:20pm, 11 Oct 2021Updated: 9:19pm, 11 Oct 2021

Most Americans across party lines have serious concerns about cyberattacks on US computer systems and view China and Russia as major threats, according to a new poll.

The poll by The Pearson Institute and Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research shows that about 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about hacking that involves their personal information, financial institutions, government agencies or certain utilities. About two-thirds say they are very or extremely concerned.

Roughly three-quarters say the Chinese and Russian governments are major threats to the cybersecurity of the US government, and at least half also see the Iranian government and non-government bodies as threatening.

The consensus highlights the growing impacts of cyberattacks in an increasingly connected world and could boost efforts by President Joe Biden and lawmakers to force critical industries to boost their cyberdefences and impose reporting requirements for companies that get hacked.

The poll comes amid a wave of high-profile ransomware attacks and cyber espionage campaigns in the last year that have compromised sensitive government records and led to the shutdown of the operations of energy companies, hospitals, schools and others.

“It’s pretty uncommon nowadays to find issues that both large majorities of Republicans and Democrats” view as a problem, said David Sterrett, a senior research scientist at The AP-NORC Center.

The criminal syndicates that dominate the ransomware business are mostly Russian-speaking and operate with near impunity out of Russia or countries allied with Russia. Photo: Shutterstock

Biden has made cybersecurity a key issue in his young administration and federal lawmakers are considering legislation to strengthen both public and private cyberdefences.