FBI On Preparing For And Responding To The Cyber Threat

Richard A. McFeely, the FBI's Executive Assistant Director, Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch (seen in the above FBI official photo), testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee on cyber security on June 12, 2013.

Good afternoon Chairwoman Mikulski, Vice Chairman Shelby, and members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the cyber threat, how the FBI has responded to it, and how we are marshaling our resources and strengthening our partnerships to more effectively combat the increasingly sophisticated adversaries we face in cyberspace.

As the committee is well aware, the frequency and impact of cyber attacks on our nation’s private sector and government networks have increased dramatically in the past decade, and are expected to continue to grow. Since 2002, the FBI has seen an 84 percent increase in the number of computer intrusion investigations.

Our adversaries in the cyber realm include spies from nation-states who seek our secrets and intellectual property; organized criminals who want to steal our identities and money; terrorists who aspire to attack our power grid, water supply, or other infrastructure; and hacktivist groups who are trying to make a political or social statement. It is difficult to overstate the potential impact these threats pose to our economy, our national security, and the critical infrastructure upon which our country relies. The bottom line is we are losing data, money, ideas, and innovation to a wide range of cyber adversaries and much more is at stake.

Director Mueller has said he expects the cyber threat to surpass the terrorism threat to our nation in the years to come. That is why we are strengthening our cyber capabilities in the same way we enhanced our intelligence and national security capabilities in the wake of the September 11th attacks.

You can read the rest of his statement via the below link:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/cyber-security-preparing-for-and-responding-to-the-enduring-threat?utm_campaign=email-Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=congressional-testimony&utm_content=232918