Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021
Last month, the U.S. government uncovered the biggest cyber hack in years.
By burying malware in a seemingly benign software update, approximately 18,000 businesses or organizations were compromised, including “fewer than 10” U.S. government agencies, according to the federal government. Experts fear the hackers gained “backdoor” access to some agencies, which may pose new national security threats.
The extent of the damage is still unknown, but the attack has made clear how weak the cyber defenses of the both the government and private sector truly are. In some cases, it’s laughable – in 2019, anyone could access the update server for SolarWinds, the company at the heart of the scandal, by using the password “solarwinds123.”
We sit down with experts to understand the state of cybersecurity in the U.S., the implications of the latest major hack and what steps the Biden administration might take going forward.
GUESTS
Greg Myre, national security correspondent for NPR
Tonya Riley, technology and cybersecurity policy researcher for The Washington Post
