The City Urban Perspectives
Stopping Hackers In Their Tracks
Former NSA Director Says Government-Civilian Cooperation Key to Cybersecurity
By Clint Kelly (ckelly@spu.edu) | Photo by Mike Siegel
Former NSA director Keith Alexander spoke
at SPU's Downtown Business Breakfast
held at 涩里番's Westin Hotel.
Defending the federal government, the nation鈥檚 economy, and the personal information of millions of American citizens from cyberattack is an enormous undertaking. As director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, General Keith Alexander shouldered significant responsibility for the nation鈥檚 security from 2005 to 2014.
On April 10, 2015, he spoke of life at the epicenter of counterterrorism and his admiration for 涩里番鈥檚 emphasis on individual character and vision of 鈥渆ngaging the culture, changing the world.鈥
The occasion was the University鈥檚 19th annual Downtown Business Breakfast, where before an audience of approximately 1,000 business, civic, and government leaders, Alexander explored 鈥淓spionage, Cybersecurity, and Privacy.鈥 In the audience were such security dignitaries as four-star General Barry McCaffrey, who is a member of the Army Ranger Hall of Fame, and 涩里番 Police Chief Kathleen O鈥橳oole, along with members of her senior leadership team.
鈥淚f everybody in industry and in government is getting hacked, our strategy鈥檚 not working.鈥
鈥淭he rate of technical change doubles every two years,鈥 said Alexander. 鈥淭he top in-demand jobs in 2013–14 didn鈥檛 exist in 2004 ... That鈥檚 the challenge in the university environment today. So it gets you back to some basics: faith, values, and a real solid education background that can adapt to that change.鈥
In terms of cybersecurity, the expert in electronic warfare said there needs to be a new approach. 鈥淚f everybody in industry and in government is getting hacked, our strategy鈥檚 not working.鈥
He believes in government and industry collaborating to solve security breaches and build better safeguards to protect the nation鈥檚 technology systems. He wants to better secure technology perimeters so that cybercriminals cannot gain entry. Once inside computer systems, he said, 鈥渂ad guys鈥 are difficult to detect. 鈥淭he normal time that an adversary is in the network before he is detected is between 205 and 220 days.鈥
Now retired from government service and CEO of his own private cybersecurity firm, Alexander says that in 2007 he and his NSA team were able to significantly reduce American troop casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. They did so by cutting the time it took to get intelligence data to the battlefield from 16 hours to one minute. Both military and civilians put themselves in harm鈥檚 way to help set up the improved system and Alexander said the cooperation made him 鈥渢remendously proud.鈥 鈥淥ver the next year, that system helped us capture and kill about 40,000 bad guys and it broke the back of the resistance.鈥
In a question and answer period following his address, Alexander counted it a great privilege to have served in the U.S. military and intelligence communities. While only intending to be in the Army for five years, he served 40. Of the controversy surrounding national security and privacy rights, launched by the NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden, he said, 鈥淚 would rather take the heat than risk human life.鈥
Read an exclusive interview with Alexander.