NSA Director: continuing cyber threats unlikely to diminish despite agreement with China

National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael Rogers appeared before a rare open hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee last Friday, in order to answer questions regarding the challenges facing the nation from cyberattacks. Rogers drew an immediate distinction between criminal-based and state-sponsored cyber attacks, claiming that while criminal activity is most prevalent, it’s state-sponsored cyberattacks which are most threatening to national security.

Among practitioners of cyberwar, China represents the most urgent threat in the realm of cyber espionage:, as evidenced from the devastating data breach at the Office of Personnel Management, attacks targeting Veterans Affairs and even commercial companies. The PRC employs dedicated units within the People’s Liberation Army to conduct hacks against American targets; Beijing vehemently denies this.

Even while Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping signed an agreement to not conduct cyber espionage on each other for economic gain, The FBI says they are pursuing every available means to bring five indicted PLA soldiers to trial. The Chinese soldiers are accused of hacking US companies to obtain trade secrets. And while the recent agreement stipulates increased law enforcement cooperation going forward, there’s no reason to expect that China will comply with extradition.

Adm. Rogers appeared highly skeptical of the cyberwar treaty, pointing out the fact that unlike a nuclear arms treaty, where all the signatories are recognized nation-states and in limited number, a cyber attack treaty is by its nature extremely difficult to negotiate, let alone enforce. Rogers told the committee:

“You’re dealing with a much greater number of actors,” he said.  “Many of whom, quite frankly, are not nation-states and have no interest in sustaining the status quo.”

Rogers specifically mentioned the Islamic State, whose interest is in eliminating the nation-state altogether in favor of a global Caliphate.

Furthermore, Rogers pointed out that there remain fundamental differences between US and China on the role of state-sponsored cyber.  When asked by Sen. Marco Rubio (R- Florida) how China views access to data, Adm. Rogers replied, “They believe that access to communications and data is a sovereign right. We reject that notion.”

As Rogers noted, the Chinese government views all information, whether commercial, private, or governmental, as providing a potential strategic advantage worthy of collecting, compared to the U.S. which views cyber-espionage as primarily limited to government targets.

Despite the hearings’ focus on threats from cyber-warfare, Rogers did respond to concerns regarding NSA’s capabilities following the recent passage of the Freedom Act. Adm. Rogers stated that the Freedom Act may hurt U.S. surveillance capabilities.  Specifically, Rogers warned that the end of bulk metadata collection from cellular companies, set to expire, was an obstacle to important intelligence gathering, and potential put national security at risk.

Rogers largely attempted to avoid being sucked into political squabbles, although he did respond to a question regarding a possible government shutdown as demoralizing, offering a curt “Yes” when asked by Sen. Angus King (D- Maine) if such a shutdown would compromise national security.

Rogers also responded to a question on whether a foreign official possessing a private email server would present a choice target for NSA, Adm. Rogers agreed it would represent an “opportunity”, and concluded by saying that Clinton’s server would be a “top priority for foreign intelligence services.”