Op-Ed: Biden Just Failed America - It Could Be Years Before We Know the Extent of the Damage
Prior to new developments regarding a possible implosion in Russia amid the war with Ukraine, the news cycle had been dominated by the classified docs indictment of former President Donald Trump and Hunter Biden’s plea deal with federal prosecutors regarding tax evasion and falsifying information in the process of purchasing a handgun.
As a result of establishment news organizations giving most of the headlines to these stories, some very important news regarding America’s overall security has flown largely under the radar.
Security, as vital as it is, seems to be far from the top priority of President Joe Biden’s administration, as evidenced by the utter disaster at the southern border, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 2.3 million illegal aliens in fiscal year 2022 alone.
Most Americans are well aware of this issue, as according to a May Reuters/Ipsos poll, only 26 percent say they approve of Biden’s immigration policy. That may be because the media has been concentrating on the physical border crisis, and not the issues plaguing our digital borders.
Most Americans are not aware that 560,000 new pieces of malware are created on a daily basis. They include viruses, trojans, keyloggers and crypto miners, which are all programmed to steal data and currency, execute spying operations, or disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure.
Biden has largely failed in the first half of 2023 in addressing these critical issues, as new reports indicate that several government agencies — including the Department of Energy — and hundreds of private and public sector entities were just victimized as part of new Russia-based hacks.
The attacks were enabled by recently discovered vulnerabilities in MOVEit software. According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA is “providing support to several federal agencies that have experienced intrusions affecting their MOVEit applications.”
Russian cyber gang CLOP claimed responsibility for the attacks. The gang gave victims a deadline of about 10 days ago to contact them regarding ransom payments. They then listed many of their alleged victims, including Georgia’s state university system, British Airways, Shell, and the state governments of Minnesota and Illinois.
Much like the situation in the SolarWinds attack, it will likely be months or possibly even years before we know the extent of this wave of Russian hacks.
This is just the latest example of the Biden administration’s failure to meet the evolving challenges facing America’s cyber defenses.
Earlier this year, the U.S. was victimized by a Vietnamese hacking group that carried out espionage operations, a North Korean hacking outfit that targeted cybersecurity research firms, and Chinese state-sponsored hackers who attacked “critical” cyber infrastructure within several industries, including government organizations.
The U.S. must lead the world in cyber matters. Big Tech must do its part too, especially as 2023 has seen a sharp rise in “malvertising” via Google Ads. One thing Americans can do to stay safe online is take simple security measures like using an ad blocker to avoid malware-laced ads.
On the international level, ongoing cyberwarfare necessitates a marked increase in cooperation. One very promising development is the Abraham Accords Cybersecurity Cooperation Act. Born out of Trump’s groundbreaking diplomatic achievement in the Abraham Accords, the act is a major step toward enhanced international communication to mitigate damages from major cyberattacks.
Our cyber defense is yet another issue where the Biden administration has failed.
For the time being, America has merely bent and not fully broken in the cybersphere. Whether or not we can hold the fort through what’s expected to be an eventful next year and a half of Joe Biden remains to be seen.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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