White House 'Confounded' By Growing Cyber-Threats From Russia, China, Iran, And North Korea

President Obama speaking to troops at Fort Meade, Md., home of the National Security Agency and the United States Cyber Command. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

New York Times: Cyberthreat Posed by China and Iran Confounds White House

WASHINGTON — A question from a member of the Pentagon’s new cyberwarfare unit the other day prompted President Obama to voice his frustration about America’s seeming inability to deter a growing wave of computer attacks, and to vow to confront the increasingly aggressive adversaries who are perpetrating them.

“Offense is moving a lot faster than defense,” Mr. Obama told troops on Friday at Fort Meade, Md., home of the National Security Agency and the United States Cyber Command. “The Russians are good. The Chinese are good. The Iranians are good.” The problem, he said, was that despite improvements in tracking down the sources of attacks, “we can’t necessarily trace it directly to that state,” making it hard to strike back.

Then he issued a warning: “There comes a point at which we consider this a core national security threat.” If China and other nations cannot figure out the boundaries of what is acceptable, “we can choose to make this an area of competition, which I guarantee you we’ll win if we have to.”

Update #1: US spies face 'significant counterintelligence threat' following cyber-hack -- Deutsceh Welle
Update #2: Russia, China, North Korea and Iran remain top US cyber concerns -- V3.co.uk

WNU Editor: Is there a political will in Washington to counter this growing cyber threat .... sadly no. And also sadly .... cyberattacks is a trend that will continue to grow .... Cyber Hacking Likely to Grow in Frequency, Sophistication (VOA).