'Cyber Armageddon' Attack Against US Unlikely Scenario

The likelihood of a large-scale, debilitating cyberattack against the United States is not as likely as continued, lower-level threats, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Instead of focusing on the most destructive attacks, the US intelligence community’s "primary concern is low to moderate-level cyberattacks," Clapped explained.

"Although we must be prepared for a large, Armageddon-scale strike that would debilitate the entire US infrastructure, it is not our belief that that is the most likely scenario," Clapper said in testimony to the US House Intelligence Committee.

He added that such lower level threats will continue "and probably expand."

In recent years, the United States has come under attack both in the private sector and against federal government targets. In April, the US government experienced the most significant data breach, when the Office of Personnel Management was hacked, compromising the personal data of more than 21 million current and former federal government employees.

In his written testimony, Clapper was even more direct in stating "the likelihood of a catastrophic attack from any particular actor is remote at this time."