{"id":8148,"date":"2026-03-27T09:49:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/ex-nsa-leaders-say-americans-are-becoming-numb-to-cyber-threats\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:49:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:49:25","slug":"ex-nsa-leaders-say-americans-are-becoming-numb-to-cyber-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/ex-nsa-leaders-say-americans-are-becoming-numb-to-cyber-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NSA leaders say Americans are becoming \u2018numb\u2019 to cyber threats"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 American society is becoming increasingly apathetic to major cyberattacks, and the U.S. has still not achieved a hardline strategy to deter foreign adversaries and their hacker operatives, former NSA and Cyber Command leaders said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve become numb to it,\u201d said retired Gen. Paul Nakasone, who served as director of Cyber Command and NSA from 2018 to 2024. He was joined on stage at an RSAC Conference discussion with other retired officials who held the dual-hatted role over the years, including Gen. Keith Alexander, Adm. Mike Rogers and, most recently, Gen. Tim Haugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we continue to see these different intrusions, and intrusions have gotten to a size that the scale is just incredible to me\u201d Nakasone said. \u201cAnd I think that we are out of balance in terms of being able to keep up with the adversary, whether or not it\u2019s ransomware, whether or not it\u2019s deepfakes, whether or not it\u2019s the brain drain within our government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for society, we are just becoming so numb to this,\u201d said Rogers. \u201cWe\u2019re starting to accept this, in some ways, as the price of living in the digital age, and we have not yet had a level of trauma that has driven fundamental behavioral change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sobering remarks underscore a growing concern among former U.S. cyber leaders that the steady drumbeat of high-impact cyber intrusions has failed to galvanize a proportional policy or societal response.<\/p>\n

Recent incidents highlight that threat picture, from China-linked hackers like Volt Typhoon embedding in U.S. critical infrastructure systems and Salt Typhoon targeting global telecom networks for espionage, to ongoing disruptions at home, including a March breach at medical device maker Stryker that\u2019s been tied to a pro-Iran hacker gang.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would definitely say we have not achieved deterrence,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cI see a private sector, network owners, that are very energized and focused. I see a government that\u2019s unwilling to expend political capital to really drive fundamental change in cyber, and it\u2019s a reflection of the fact that, politically, we are so divided. And as a society, we are so divided.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander reinforced the same worry over a lack of national readiness against major cyber players.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m concerned about is what we\u2019re doing as a nation to think about what China could do to hurt us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Trump White House has released a long-anticipated national cyber strategy, which includes a pillar focused on reshaping the behavior of cyber adversaries to create incentives to not target U.S. networks. Details of that effort remain to be seen, though the private sector is expected to play a major part.\n\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n