Janet Napolitano Warns of Massive Cyberattack on the US

• By Ginger Hill
• Aug 27, 2013

There’s “going out with a bang” and then there’s saying that a massive cyberattack is coming to the U.S.

During Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano’s farewell speech, she warned listeners that at some point, the United States will be hit by a majorly destructive cyberattack…one that could not only harm the economy but disrupt everyday life as we know it in America.

“Our country will, at some point, face a major cyber event that will have a serious effect on our lives, our economy and the everyday functioning of our society,” Napolitano explained.

Prediction? Foreshadowing? Does she know something that we don’t? I guess only time will tell.

Scheduled to step down on September 6, 2013 after 4.5 years of service, Napolitano stated that cyberattacks are new challenges that have been addressed during her time as secretary, but these attacks require further attention from her successor.

“While we have built systems, protections and a framework to identify attacks and intrusions…to mitigate the damage, more must be done and must be done quickly,” said Napolitano.

She didn’t offer any suggestions or advice to combat the issue, but she did leave the following message to the next Secretary of Homeland Security: “You will need a large bottle of Advil.” (Well, I guess so…especially after hinting to a huge cyberattack on the U.S.)

Sources: http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/27/4664116/janet-napolitano-farewell-address-warns-of-impending-cyber-attack

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-homeland-security-napolitano-departure-20130827,0,7104849.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fpolitics+(L.A.+Times+-+Politics)

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/08/outgoing-dhs-secretary-janet-napolitano-warns-of-serious-cyber-attackunprecedented-natural-disaster/