Cyber Expert: US Takes Knife to Gun Fight vs. Hackers
By Bill Hoffmann
Americans are “sitting ducks” when it comes to attacks by computer hackers, cyber-security expert Matti Kon, CEO of InfoTech, tells Newsmax TV. And the infiltration of White House computers, allegedly by Russia, shows how dire the situation really is, Kon said Wednesday on “The Steve Malzberg Show.”
“This is serious…. We’re not dealing with individual hackers, we’re dealing with countries. This is another means of war, this is another way of fighting us,” Kon said. “We’re supposedly talking about the epitome of security. We’re talking about the White House, the top security and the chief executive of the United States…. We’re sitting ducks.”
Kon added that the private email account used by Hillary Clinton during her time running the State Department could have been easily hacked as well. “Gmail has been penetrated and hacked before…. It’s much easier,” he said. Kon urged the U.S. government to get tougher in fighting cyber criminals. “I truly don’t think we take the business seriously…. We’re showing up to a gun fight with a knife,” he said. “We should be doing big things now…. We have all the red flags. Are we waiting for the big explosion?”
On Tuesday, government sources told CNN that Russian hackers have been able to penetrate the White House’s computer system and see non-classified emails. The hack didn’t get access to classified materials, but still was able to see sensitive information such as real-time nonpublic details of the president’s schedule, CNN reported.
Hackers first managed to hack into State Department computers and are said to have tricked an employee into providing information that gave them a back door into the White House system and eventually the Oval Office.
