President Joe Biden warned cyberattacks could escalate to a full-blown conflict as tensions with Russia & China mount over a series hacking incidents that targeted US government agencies, businesses, and infrastructure.Biden stated Tuesday that ransomware attacks and cyber threats are becoming more common in real life.The president stated that if we end up in a conflict with a major power, it will be because of a cyber breach. This was in a speech to the Office for the Director of National Intelligence which oversees 18 US intelligence agencies.Recent hacks have revealed the US's cyber vulnerability. These range from ransomware attacks to stop operations at important oil pipelines and meat packing plants, to extensive espionage breaches to strike at the heart US government.Biden's administration has charged the governments of Russia, China and hackers based in the two countries with some of these attacks. Officials from the US warned that they would use a combination of unseen and visible tools to respond, but cyber attacks have not stopped.AdvertisementBiden, even though he didn't say who this war might be fought against was quick to name Putin, Russia's president, and allege that Russia was spreading misinformation in advance of the 2022 US midterm election.He said it was a clear violation of our sovereignty.Mr. Putin...has a problem. Putin is sitting at the top of an economy with nuclear weapons and oil wells, and nothing else. Biden stated that there is nothing else. Biden knows he is in serious trouble which makes him more dangerous.Biden warned Putin at a summit in Geneva in June that the US would use cyber to counter any Russian hackers or state-based Russians who target critical infrastructure in the US.The banned sectors included energy, health care IT, and commercial facilities. All of these have been allegedly targeted by Russian hackers after the 2020 US election. Other prohibited sectors included finance, chemicals, and transport.Biden said that Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, was also very serious about China becoming the strongest military force in the world by 2040s and the largest and most prominent economic country.It's true... It's real...Biden stressed that cyberattacks are only one of the growing threats facing America. He stated that there would be more developments over the next 10 years that in the last 50. This will place a huge burden on the intelligence sector.He said that it was going to be more difficult.2021 The Financial Times Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
