By Doug Kelly
The Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) was released in March 2022, and it mentioned the importance of “technology” 34 times in a 31-page report (and “cyber” 33 times). The U.S. intelligence community fully understands how vital U.S. technology is to our national security and hopefully that will influence Congress to turn away from the anti-innovation legislation it is considering. You can read the full report here and below are some key highlights:
- China: “China will remain the top threat to U.S. tech competitiveness,” says ATA. China steals U.S. commercial and military technology, is capable of cyberattacks on essential U.S. infrastructure and is exporting “technology-driven authoritarianism globally.”
- Russia: “Russia will remain a top cyber threat” to the U.S., according to ATA. It targets the U.S. and our allies’ critical infrastructure (including underwater cables and industrial control systems), hacks journalists and uses disinformation to advance its foreign policy and military goals.
- Iran: Iran’s “aggressive cyber operations make it a major threat to the security of U.S. and allied networks and data.” ATA says Iran frequently targets the U.S. and Israel with cyberattacks, especially on infrastructure.
- North Korea: ATA also says “North Korea’s cyber program poses a sophisticated and agile espionage, cybercrime, and attack threat” to the U.S. and allies. North Korea’s past cyber-attack targets include infrastructure, business, media, academia, defense companies and multiple governments.
- Dual use technologies: The global race for dual-use technologies (AI, biotech, robotics, etc.) also presents many potential threats to U.S. security, according to ATA.
The bottom line: To protect our national security and that of our allies, America’s technology industry needs to be stronger and more innovative than ever before. Now is the time for lawmakers to double-down to support U.S. tech innovation, not handcuff our companies and hand an advantage to authoritarian adversaries.