Spy chief: 'We're not ready'

Gen Keith Alexander, the head of head of the National Security Agency (NSA)and the US Cyber Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the country needs a “reset” in terms of how it thinks about cyber threats.

“I think we have to get on with cyber legislation,” he said. “Those attacks are coming, and I think those are near-term and we’re not ready for them. The nation needs an agency like NSA with its technical capabilities to help ensure that we can evolve to that future space to where we need to be.” Cyberspace, he said, “is changing so rapidly that our policy and laws lag behind it,” which could pose a threat to government and critical networks that are vulnerable to attack. “We should protect these networks better than we have protected them today, not just within the Defense Department but within our critical infrastructure.”