RSAC Digital intruders from China, Russia and Iran breaking into US water systems this year should be a "wake-up call," according to former National Security Agency cyber chief Rob Joyce.
Are hackers the biggest threat to America's critical infrastructure? | Cyber war
"None of it was significantly consequential," Joyce explained during the NSA's annual State of the Hack panel at the RSA conference on Wednesday. Nonetheless, "that these countries had hackers to fight our critical infrastructure should be a wake-up call. And that there are people out there who, when there are global tensions, feel their role is to pick up cyber weapons."
In the case of Russia and Iran-linked cyberthugs, the gangs that did the hacking were hacktivists, as opposed to state-sponsored crews. The Fed, meanwhile, has placed the blame on the Chinese government for the latest Volt Typhoon activity detected on critical infrastructure systems.
In addition to pursuing their own political agenda, these hacktivists may have direct links to government intelligence agencies.
