US cybersecurity director: The tech ecosystem has ‘become really unsafe’ – Yahoo Finance
The head of the nation’s top cybersecurity agency is warning that the current technology ecosystem, which underpins much of our lives, is at risk of being hacked by malicious actors.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly explained that the tech industry, consumers, and government need to come together to help improve cyber safety in the U.S.
“We live in a world…of massive connections where that critical infrastructure that we rely upon is all underpinned by a technology ecosystem that unfortunately has become really unsafe,” said Easterly, who was previously head of Firm Resilience at Morgan Stanley.
She added: “We cannot have the same sort of attacks on hospitals and school districts that we've been seeing for years. We have to create a sustainable approach to cyber safety, and that's the message that I'm bringing to CES.”
Easterly, who was confirmed as director of CISA in 2021— and helped create and design the United States Cyber Command—explained that tech companies need to ensure that the software they put out into the world has fewer flaws that hackers can exploit.
“We've essentially accepted as normal that technology is released to market with dozens or hundreds or thousands of vulnerabilities and defects and flaws,” Easterly said. “We've accepted the fact that cyber safety is my job and your job and the job of my mom and my kid, but we've put the burden on consumers, not on the companies who are best equipped to be able to do something about it.”
Over the last several years hackers and nation state actors have taken aim at everything from critical U.S. infrastructure to the IT systems that help small towns provide services to their residents. For example: In 2021, hackers attacked JBS, the world’s largest meat supplier, demanding an $11 million ransom. That same year, attackers broke into Colonial Pipeline’s systems, triggering fears of fuel shortages on the East Coast. And throughout the pandemic, hackers launched ransomware attacks against hospitals and hospital systems, forcing facilities to delay patient care.
Hackers are able to break into systems by exploiting weaknesses, or errors, in the code that make up the operating systems and software that power computers and servers across the world. Since people write that code, and people are flawed, they inevitably introduce potential vectors through which hackers can launch their attacks.
Easterly said tech companies that power the world’s computers, like Microsoft (MSFT), need to be held to a higher standard to ensure that the software is as free of flaws as possible.
To do that, the director said companies need to create products that are secure by design, ensure that their software has security settings turned on by default, and that CEOs need to embrace good corporate cyber responsibilities.
“Cyber is a social good,” Easterly said. “It's about societal resilience. And my last message is that we need to fundamentally change the relationship between government and industry.”
Sign up for Yahoo Finance's Tech newsletter
More from Dan
BMW debuts i Vision Dee concept, a car that can change colors and smile at you
Roku says it will begin building its own TVs
Samsung debuts new Micro LED TVs at CES 2023
Got a tip? Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
Click here for the latest technology business news, reviews, and useful articles on tech and gadgets
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
(Bloomberg) — US authorities are ratcheting up pressure on Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle as they scrutinize former close FTX associate Nishad Singh, according to people familiar with the matter. Most Read from BloombergWhat We Know About the ‘Kraken’ Covid Variant XBB.1.5 and Why It’s Causing ConcernIf You Have Student Loans, Mark These Dates on Your CalendarUS and Germany to Send Ukraine Armored Vehicles in Major Arms UpgradeTrump’s Troubles Mount as Special Counsel Gets New 2020 EvidenceSa
The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) said it planned to seek higher penalties for airlines and others that broke consumer protection rules, saying they were necessary to deter future violations. USDOT said in a notice posted on its website it intended to hold airlines, ticket agents and others "accountable and deter future misconduct by seeking higher penalties that would not be viewed as simply a cost of doing business." Airlines for America, an industry group, declined comment.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed a new rule that would make it illegal for employers to have noncompete clauses with their workers.
Growth stocks led on the downside in 2022, but it's still not the time to buy them, say UBS strategists.
Waddell and Associates CEO and Chief Investment Strategist David Waddell and Providence Financial & Insurance Services President Anthony Saccaro join Yahoo Finance Live to discuss how Fed policy and interest rate hikes have impacted the markets, inflation, and the labor market.
These are some of the stocks moving in after hours on Jan. 5, 2023.
The billionaire investor tells TheStreet that a new scandal will soon rock the cryptocurrency industry.
Roku announced it's launching its own TV line at CES 2023.
Salesforce (CRM) aims to reduce expenses on its operations and boost margins by laying off around 10% of its current workers.
The software giant Salesforce's recent revamp confirms the struggles in Silicon Valley and tech more broadly are widespread. The details: Salesforce will close some offices and eliminate around 10% of its estimated 56,600 employees as it looks to reduce operating costs, widen operating margins and "continue advancing the company's ongoing commitment to profitable growth." Salesforce said the job cuts, as well as the broader restructuring plans, will cost between $1.4 billion and $2.1 billion, with a hit of around $1 billion expected in its fiscal fourth quarter.
Brunswick, the world’s largest consumer marine company behind brands like Boston Whaler, Sea Ray, and Mercury is making waves in land-locked Las Vegas, at CES this year.
Provides an overview of China, including key events and facts.
Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi discusses Goodyear's push into sustainable tires with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company CEO Rich Kramer.
U.S. stocks sank Thursday after economic data showed continued tightness in the labor market that's likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track for higher interest rates. Investors also look ahead to tomorrow's main monthly jobs report.
“The idea in your head that you can quietly hide in your ivory tower and that this will all just magically go away, or that this is someone else’s problem, is pure fantasy,” Cameron Winklevoss wrote to former friend Barry Silbert.
Bed Bath & Beyond may have one foot in the retail grave as its struggles continued ahead of the holiday season.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley are looking for Amazon and other tech companies to continue reining in costs.
Tech layoffs continue to draw headlines even as overall labor data suggest the U.S. economy remains in good standing.
A bankruptcy judge ruled that digital coins deposited in Celsius Network LLC’s interest-bearing accounts belong to the firm, ruling against thousands of customers and deciding a key legal issue in crypto-related insolvencies.
Within the tech sector, shares of Shopify (NYSE: SHOP), Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR), and CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) are suffering worse than most, falling 3.3%, 3.9%, and 8%, respectively, through 12:05 p.m. ET. You can blame investment bank Jefferies for that — and Piper Sandler, too. Jefferies started off the new year with a series of downgrades, reversing its buy ratings and lowering Shopify, Palantir, and CrowdStrike to neutral, as ratings-watcher The Fly reports today.