MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) – US intelligence agencies are concealing information which could help companies deal with cyber threats, the FBI’s former top cyber security official told the Washington Times.
“I understand the need for the government to protect sources and methods of how they may have collected some of this information, some of this actionable intelligence,” said Shawn Henry, former executive assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch.
“But US corporations arguably have the most valuable intellectual property anywhere in the world, and that’s being systematically stolen,” Henry said. “So the actionable intelligence that the government has – there’s a lot more of it to be shared with the private sector to make them safer,” she added.
Experts have criticized the US government’s lack of information-sharing with companies which are increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The recently revealed Heartbleed bug, called one of the Internet's biggest security threats, allowed hackers to steal computer users’ passwords and other data.
According to Bloomberg, the US National Security Agency had known about Heartbleed for two years before private researchers discovered and repaired it in April. The NSA used the flaw to exploit computer networks and gain intelligence at the expense of businesses, the report said.
Jonathan Katz, director of the Cybersecurity Center at the University of Maryland, said in light of Heartbleed and concern about other threats that authorities have yet to disclose, the US government “needs to regain the people’s trust and they have to work harder at convincing the private sector that their interests are aligned.”
