Cyber activity has evolved over the years from worms and viruses to cyber crime and, now, to state-engaged cyber attacks that author Richard Stiennon calls “cyberwar.”

Stiennon’s new book, “Surviving Cyberwar,” outlines a defense against cyber attacks.

In an interview with In Depth’s Francis Rose, Stiennon said that even if an organization is not threatened by a state-backed attack — say, from China — the attacks will create “collatoral damage.”

“There will be fallout from cyberwar that impacts you no matter what walk of life you are,” he said.

Stiennon pointed to the tools used in the Stuxnet worm that is now being copies in “broadly distributed toolkits.”

For the Defense Department to be prepared for future attacks, the agency will have to assign responsibility “pushed down to every level,” Stiennon said.

He added that Congress will have to create an organization that has budgetary control over cybersecurity.

Especially in the age of WikiLeaks, agencies should be proactive by monitoring network behavior and warning employees that they are being monitored.

Stiennon blogs at Threat Chaos.

Copyright © 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.