Countries Shore Up Their Digital Defenses as Global Tensions Raise the Threat of Cyberwarfare

Hackers linked to Russia’s government launched a cyberattack last spring against municipal water plants in rural Texas. At one plant in Muleshoe, population 5,000, water began to overflow. Officials had to unplug the system and run the plant manually.

The hackers weren’t trying to taint the water supply. They didn’t ask for a ransom. Authorities determined the intrusion was designed to test the vulnerabilities of America’s public infrastructure. It was also a warning: In the 21st century, it takes more than oceans and an army to keep the United States safe.

A year later, countries around the world are preparing for greater digital conflict as increasing global tensions and a looming trade war have raised the stakes — and the chances that a cyberattack could cause significant economic damage, disrupt vital public systems, reveal sensitive business or government secrets, or even escalate into military confrontation.

The confluence of events has national security and cyber experts warning of heightened cyberthreats and a growing digital arms race as countries look to defend themselves.

At the same time, President Donald Trump has upended America’s digital defenses by firing the four-star general who led the National Security Agency, shrinking cybersecurity agencies and slashing election cybersecurity initiatives.

Businesses now are increasingly concerned about cyberattacks, and governments have moved to a war footing, according to a report this month by NCC Group, a British cybersecurity firm.

“The geopolitical dust is still settling,” said Verona Johnstone-Hulse, a London-based expert on government cybersecurity polices and the report’s co-author. “What the new normal looks like is still not yet set.”

Many in the U.S. are already calling for a more muscular approach to protecting the digital frontier.