SERIOUS WARNING

Hagel: Cyberthreats ‘Quiet, Stealthy, Insidious’

And they’re a danger to everyone.

The United States and other nations are at risk of “quiet, stealthy, insidious” cyberthreats, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters while on his way to Singapore for a security conference. “Cyberthreats are real, they’re terribly dangerous,” Hagel said. “That’s not a unique threat to the United States, [it affects] everybody, so we’ve got to find ways here ... working with the Chinese, working with everybody, [to develop] rules of the road, some international understandings, some responsibility that governments have to take.” Hagel said he was planning to address the issue further at Saturday’s conference—just days after the civilian expert–led Defense Science Board determined that over two dozen U.S. weapons systems designs have been apprehended by Chinese hackers.