Fmr. CIA Director Brennan: ‘It’s Going to Take a 9/11’ Cyber Threat for US to Act

Lawmakers should recognize the gravity of cyber-security threats the U.S. faces, and focus on legislation and regulations to properly address vulnerabilities, warned former CIA Director John Brennan Wednesday.

“People frequently say it’s going to take a 9/11 in the cyber realm in order for us as a country to be able to come to terms and deal more effectively with cyber challenges,” said Brennan, according to CyberScoop.

Speaking to an audience consisting mostly of private sector executives in the cyber-security field, Brennan urged attendees at the Gartner Risk and Security Summit to coerce lawmakers to act. “You all need to continue to put the pressure on your elected representatives in Congress to take this matter seriously,” he said.

“A lot of work needs to be done in the halls of Congress, as well as in the executive branch, in order to allow the government to deal with the challenges of the 21st century,” he added.

“A lot of our government structures, organizations, legal foundations and frameworks were developed in the 20th century with 20th century technologies and processes in mind,” said Brennan. “The past 30 years have just totally transformed the way we operate as a society.”

Just as other leaders have done, Brennan called for increasing cooperating between the public and private sectors, saying that he believes the solution for cyber-crime “will be an unprecedented partnership” between government and private entities.

Brennan’s remarks come after President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the standardization of cyber-security protocols across government.