Experts stressed that attackers exploit these foundational gaps.
Former national security leaders and industry executives have warned that U.S. critical infrastructure remains dangerously exposed to foreign cyber threats due to basic security failures.
According to Nextgov/FCW, the cybersecurity panel held at One World Trade Center in New York City,
Despite growing buzz around AI and quantum computing, the panel emphasised that essential protections, like firewalls, patching, and authentication, are still missing in many sectors, particularly among smaller and downstream providers.
Dragos CEO Robert M. Lee and American Electric Power’s Bill Fehrman stressed that attackers exploit these foundational gaps, with Lee noting that energy grid modernisation has increased attack surfaces. Former NSA head Gen. Paul Nakasone called for stricter compliance standards and enhanced private-public sharing agreements to "make the U.S. more toxic" to cyber adversaries.
Former FBI Director Christopher Wray highlighted the urgency of scaling up collaboration to reach less mature infrastructure operators. The panel's stark message: focus must return to cyber hygiene and execution before adversaries exploit the nation’s weakest digital links.
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
