Cybersecurity expert reveals the biggest threats facing the US
As defense strategists meet at the Defense Technology Contracting Summit in Washington to discuss how to combat emerging security threats, AOL.com is exploring how new technology can be used to address threats to Americans' safety.
James Andrew Lewis, senior fellow and program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins AOL.com to explain the biggest cybersecurity threats to the U.S. today.
Lewis previously worked at the Departments of State and Commerce as a Foreign Service officer and as a member of the Senior Executive Service. He's an expert on cybersecurity, and recently released the best-seller "Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency."
AOL.com: What are the biggest threats facing the U.S. from a cybersecurity perspective?
James A. Lewis: The biggest threats come from four countries: Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Russian and Chinese hackers steal billions from the U.S. every year. Iran and North Korea are risky because they have used cyber attacks for political coercion against US citizens.
Any of these four could disrupt critical services or data, and while Russia and China are careful, Iran or North Korea could easily make a mistake.
AOL.com:What are some of the technological developments and inventions that have been developed recently to combat those threats, and what problems are we still actively trying to tackle?
James A. Lewis: The last couple of years have seen a wave of investment in tech start-ups to build cyber security products. They are just starting to reach the market. The most basic improvements could be in making encryption easier to use and making it harder to impersonate online identities. These two things, if people used them, could make a difference.
AOL.com:The Islamic State has become well known for its ability to harness social media for recruiting. Are you concerned about the group possibly posing a serious cybersecurity threat to the U.S.?
James A. Lewis: Groups like ISIS or al-Qaeda threaten cyber attacks every once and a while. They have been doing so for more than ten years and nothing has ever happened. Eventually they may do it, but it's not at the top of their list.
Iran is a different story. It supports groups like Hezbollah and the Syrian Electronic Army and could use these groups as proxies for attacks.
AOL.com:The general public often sees the Middle East as a hotbed of anti-American hostility and a threat to security, but what countries outside that region pose the biggest threat from a cybersecurity perspective?
James A. Lewis: Only Iran. Iran has used cyber attacks against targets in the middle East (the most notorious being against Aramco), against a conservative American casino owner, and has used very basic attacks against U.S. banks. Iran has also probed U.S. energy pipelines looking for places to attack.
AOL.com:In May, an FBI affidavit claimed a security researcher was able to hack into an aircraft through the in-flight entertainment system, causing the plane to drift off course. In the past week Chrysler announced a major recall after a report emerged that its vehicles were hackable. What do we know what's being done to ensure travel safety?
James A. Lewis: Companies are much more aware of the risks that using computer networks create than they were a few years ago, and are starting to put more effort into securing networks and building secure products. We've got a ways to go, however.
AOL.com:Is there an issue or threat you think is not discussed often enough in the public?
James A. Lewis: One problem for the U.S. is that we don't know how to respond to cyber attacks. When China's military hacks OPM and we do nothing, it send the wrong signal. Why should they stop?
See photos from the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center:
Also watch a video on cybersecurity with former NSA director Keith Alexander:
More from AOL.com on cybersecurity:
America faces new and changing international threats
Wild inventions of the future (and the past) that the Pentagon is behind
