Highlighting Russia And China Threats, President Biden Says Cyber Attacks Could Trigger Open War
JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden issued a warning that cyber attacks directed at them could spark armed war in the real world, highlighting the real threat posed by Russia and China in a statement Tuesday, July 27 local time.
Cybersecurity is high on the Biden Administration's agenda, following a series of high-profile attacks against entities such as network management firm SolarWinds, company Colonial Pipeline, meat processing company JBS and software company Kaseya.
The so-called attacks cost the US far more than just companies being hacked. In fact, some of the attacks affected fuel and food supplies in parts of the United States.
"I think it's very likely that we will end, if we end up in a war, a real shooting war with great power, it will be a consequence of cyber breaches with huge consequences and exponentially increasing capabilities," President Biden said during a visit to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. ODNI), as quoted by Reuters on Wednesday, July 28.
During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland on June 16, President Biden shared a list of critical infrastructure that the US considers off-limits to nation-state actors.
Since then, senior members of the Biden Administration's national security team have been in constant contact with senior members of the Kremlin regarding cyber attacks on the United States, the White House said.
Biden also highlighted the threat posed by China, pointing to President Xi Jinping's ambition to make China the world's largest military and economic power by 2040.
During his address to some 120 ODNI employees and senior leadership officials, President Biden also thanked members of the US intelligence agency, stressed his confidence in the work they were doing and said he would not put political pressure on them. ODNI itself oversees 17 US intelligence organizations.
"I will never politicize the work you do. You keep my word about it. It is too important for our country," he stressed.
President Biden's comments offer a clear contrast to statements made by his predecessor Donald Trump, who has controversial ties to intelligence agencies.
This includes issues such as the assessment that Russia has intervened to help Trump win the 2016 US Presidential Election and his role in revealing Donald Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.
To note, during his only four-year reign, former President Donald Trump had four definitive directors as well as the acting director of US national intelligence.