The security of U.S. networks is in such disarray that the Pentagon has spent $100 million in the last six months alone to repair damage done by cyber attacks. That huge number presumably includes cleaning up after external attacks, viruses and internal problems.
Experts say that the U.S. has fallen far behind other nations on cybersecurity, and with a broad set of attackers looking to disrupt U.S. networks, it’s a major challenge. As Elinor Mills writes:
The Defense Department was forced to take up to 1,500 computers offline last year because of a cyberattack, and it banned the use of external removable storage devices because of their ability to spread viruses.
The news comes amid internal government squabbles over which department would be best to manage the nation’s cybersecurity programs and in the middle of a cybersecurity review ordered by President Obama.
The review by the Obama administration is nearly complete and should be under consideration by the president within weeks.
