Cyberterrorism Eclipses Other Threats to US Vital Interests in Fresh Poll

Cyberthreats have been the prime concern of Americans since 2021, surpassing both nuclear arms and international terrorism. Fittingly, just this month, the White House released a new US National Cybersecurity Strategy, a framework designed to counter the mounting threats to the digital ecosystem.

Cyberterrorism has once again topped the list of critical threats to US vital interests, outstripping other major concerns such as nuclear arms proliferation and foreign terrorism in a fresh Gallup poll.

Wholly, 84% of Americans listed hackers wreaking havoc and instilling fear in society as the most pressing threat.

Cyberterrorism has emerged as the chief concern of Americans since 2021 in Gallup polls, eclipsing both the development of nuclear weapons by Iran and North Korea, and international terrorism, which in the current survey ranked second and third, respectively.

In rare bipartisan unity, there appears no political divide on this issue, as 86% of Republicans and Democrats see it as the top threat. In recent years, cybersecurity has unified the Congress along party lines as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have introduced and passed bills focused on protecting critical infrastructure, including in the health and energy sectors.

This week alone, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers in the Senate - Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) - introduced two bills aimed at strengthening the cyber workforce of the US and supporting the federal government in its response to cyberthreats. The bill would allow the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to recruit qualified civilian cybersecurity employees to serve in a reserve capacity for new pilot programs.

Fittingly, earlier in March, the White House released the new US National Cybersecurity Strategy. The framework seeks to protect critical infrastructure, which include hospitals and clean energy facilities, from cyberthreats and seeks to beef up collaboration with international coalitions and partnerships to counter threats to the digital ecosystem.

The US National Cybersecurity Strategy rests on five pillars: defending critical infrastructure, disrupting and dismantling threat actors, shaping market forces to drive security and resilience, investing in a resilient future and, lastly, forging international partnerships to pursue shared goals.

In the preface of the framework, Biden wrote that "to take care of any of our basic needs, we need to be able to trust that the underlying digital ecosystem is safe, reliable and secure."

Overall, the Biden administration has been at pains to strengthen cyber and technology governance. This included efforts to "increase accountability for tech companies," boost "privacy protections" and ensure "fair competition online."

According to Google data, in 2022, state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting users in NATO countries were 300% greater than in 2020.