It seems that security-related topics are all we read about these days. We’re probably a few stories away from mass paranoia. It might be better to be on the verge of paranoia for a while, rather than be sorry later we didn’t take enough measures.
Just a few days ago, James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, released a somewhat comprehensive statement regarding the Intelligence Community’s Worldwide Threat Assessment. The statement contains reviews of the Global Threats – like technology, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, space, counterintelligence, organized crime, economics and natural resources, or human security. The last part of the statement is divided in global threats reviewed based on the regions they come from.
Why is this statement important?
To answer this, we must begin with another question: who is the US Intelligence Community and why does their statement matter?
The US Intelligence Community (I.C.) was established in 1981 through Executive Order 12333, signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
This community has members from 16 separate United States government agencies – ranging from intelligence agencies and military intelligence, to federal executive departments. They work separately and together to conduct intelligence activities considered necessary for the conduct of foreign relations and national security. Their responsibilities include: to collect and produce foreign and domestic intelligence, contribute to military planning, and perform espionage. The I.C. is led by the Director of National Intelligence – in this case James R. Clapper.
Reports from 2010 noted that the I.C. included a total of 854,000 people. Think of it as a large team with members from the best intelligence agencies in the US: CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, Air Force, NSA, Marine Corps, Navy, and others.
These people leave and breathe for intelligence and security. It’s their job to stay one step ahead of threats. James R. Clapper’s statement introduction sums it up best: “My statement reflects the collective insights of the Intelligence Community’s extraordinary men and women, whom I am privileged and honored to lead. We in the Intelligence Community are committed every day to provide the nuanced, multidisciplinary intelligence that policymakers, war fighters, and domestic law enforcement personnel need to protect American lives and America’s interests anywhere in the world.”
Top cyber threats to prepare for
With the risk of overstating this, innovation has consequences. In the next few years, our efforts to secure technology will be more important than ever. It’s great to see that this fast-paced evolution improves our lives every day, but we are getting dangerously close to a critical point where we could see widespread vulnerabilities in all the systems. President Obama acknowledged through the Cybersecurity National Action Plan that the US Government is not as prepared as it should be. In truth, high-level hacks proved that you can never be prepared enough.
Internet of Things. We knew this one was coming for some time now. Recent news even presented the wonders of Shodan – a search engine for IoT devices that lets you snoop on people’s homes even without any technical background. Industry analysts have demonstrated several times that many IoT systems can threaten our privacy. According to Clapper, intelligence services might even use IoT themselves to spy on users.
Artificial Intelligence. AI development should be concerning for multiple reasons. First there’s the obvious one – increased vulnerability to cyberattacks, but artificial intelligence improvements also mean advances in foreign weapons and intelligence systems. Technology is also becoming more affordable, therefore AI could also lead to unemployment. “AI systems are susceptible to a range of disruptive and deceptive tactics that might be difficult to anticipate or quickly understand,” said Clapper in his statement. “Efforts to mislead or compromise automated systems might create or enable further opportunities to disrupt or damage critical infrastructure or national security networks,” he added.
Foreign Data Science. The problem with sharing data is that others will be able to learn from it. But that’s the point of sharing it, is it not? It most certainly is, but we must also consider that what helps improve security, might also help improve future attacks.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). AR and VR systems are supposed to be the next big thing in 2016 technology. Usually the producers focus first on making a new device work better than the others, rather than on security. For now we can only imagine what kind of new threats will unfold. “AR and VR systems with three-dimensional imagery and audio, user-friendly software, and low price points are already on the market; their adoption will probably accelerate in 2016,” said James R. Clapper. “AR provides users with additional communications scenarios (e.g. by using virtual avatars) as well as acquisition of new data (e.g. from facial recognition) overlaid onto reality. VR gives users experiences in man-made environments wholly separate from reality.”
At the moment, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are the leading threat actors, according to the US Director of National Intelligence.
The full statement is available here.
