How Safe Are We from Cyber Warfare?

Two days later, after an internal investigation, the reason became clear: The culprit was an outdated computer system — more than 30 years old — in the process of being upgraded. A file was accidentally deleted, causing a malfunction, which was soon fixed.

The world breathed a sigh of relief, and life returned to normal.

But one can’t help but wonder, just how secure is the United States’ critical infrastructure? The more systems are connected to the Internet, the greater the risk that in the event of a cyberattack, essential systems will cease to function. From traffic lights and hospitals to the water company, everything is connected to the Internet, and everything could be at risk. To what extent are other countries trying to disrupt key American infrastructure, and can we sleep at night?

“There is certainly cause for concern,” says Quentin Hodgson, senior international and defense researcher at the Rand Corporation focusing on cybersecurity, cyber operations, critical infrastructure protection, risk management, and command and control.