“Jen Easterly Wants Hackers to Help US Cyber Defense”
WIRED, November 10, 2021
Security – Re:Wired 2021
By Graham Hacia
“For all the technology involved, Easterly says the hardest part is ‘about people and human behavior and getting people to change how they operate, and implement the basics of cyber hygiene, through authentication, patching, and software upgrades.’”
Jen Easterly has her work cut out for her. As only the second director of the US government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), she must contend with a historic onslaught of ransomware attacks and disinformation campaigns. Easterly is a different kind of bureaucrat, however. She exhibited as much at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in August, where she introduced new policy initiatives to an AC/DC-backed dance while wearing a “Free Britney” shirt and dragon-emblazoned jeans.
Her breezy style, though, isn’t for lack of experience. The retired Army officer previously served in the National Security Agency and helped the Department of Defense establish its cyberspace operations. She also acted as special assistant to President Obama on counterterrorism before migrating to the banking sector, where she headed cybersecurity at Morgan Stanley.
In conversation with WIRED contributing editor Garrett Graff at the RE:WIRED event Wednesday, Easterly related a big shift in cybersecurity to Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently paradigm, where “everything is connected, everything is interdependent.” This interconnectivity is the product of our digitized world. “So the attack surface has grown, and the volume and variety and velocity of data has grown exponentially.” The result: There’s a cyberattack every 40 seconds and one in 10 of the internet’s 1.8 billion websites leads you to malware. “So the big thing that has changed is cybersecurity has become a kitchen table issue.”
About the Author:
Graham Hacia writes for WIRED magazine.
See also:
- Watch “RE:Wired 2021: Tinker Hacker Sailor Spy: The Scourge of Ransomwware.” The new director of the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, Jen Easterly, joined WIRED contributing editor Garrett Graff to talk about hacking and misinformation on a global scale and how to combat the ever-evolving nature of cyberattacks.
- Watch Highlights From Our RE:WIRED 2021 Event
We spoke with AI experts, an NFT artist, and more about how to build a better future. Here’s what they said.
WIRED, November 10, 2021
