Kirstjen Nielsen, DHS chief, on cybersecurity threats: ‘America is not prepared for this’

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen offered a dire assessment of the nation’s ability to withstand a state-sponsored cyberattack.

“Threat actors are mercilessly targeting everyone’s devices and networks. They are compromising, co-opting and controlling them, and they are weaponizing our own innovation against us,” Ms. Nielsen said Monday during an event George Washington University in D.C.

“America is not prepared for this,” Ms. Nielsen continued. “Our average private citizen or company is simply no match against a nation-state such as China, Iran, North Korea or Russia. It’s not a fair fight. And until now our government has done far too little to back them up.”

Ms. Nielsen made the comments at an event hosted by Auburn University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security during an address rife with warnings about the growing threat posed by hackers, state-sponsored and otherwise.

“Although the overall security of our homeland is strong, the threats we face are graver than at any time since September 11, 2001,” Ms. Neilsen said during her speech. “We are more secure than ever against the dangers of the last decade, but we are less prepared than ever for those that will find us in the next.

“Not only are we still facing the insidious threat from global jihadists, but we are under siege from transnational criminals, faceless cyber thugs and hackers and resurgent nation-state rivals,” she said. “Today, I am more worried about the ability of bad guys to hijack our networks than their ability to hijack our flights. And I am concerned about them holding our infrastructure hostage, stealing our money and secrets, exploiting children online and even hacking our very democracy.”

Ms. Nielsen, DHS secretary since late 2017, said President Trump’s administration has responded to foreign-launched cyberattacks by publicly shaming perpetrators and imposing sanctions, among other measures, adding: “we will not hesitate to punish you for compromising our networks.”

Federal action aside, Ms. Nielsen warned that the widening scale and scope of cyberattacks warrant more than ever the need for Americans to adopt appropriated defenses, however.

“The idea that we can prevail with so-called ’Whole of Government’ efforts is now an outdated concept,” she said. “It’s not enough. We need a ’Whole of Society’ approach to overcome today’s threats. Because it’s not just U.S. troops and government agents on the front lines anymore. It’s U.S. companies. It’s our schools and gathering places. It’s ordinary everyday Americans.”