China’s structured and well-funded ecosystem for cyber dominance poses a growing threat to U.S. cybersecurity, a senior Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) official warned, saying the U.S. must continue to foster public-private partnerships and global alliances to defend against those threats.
During a keynote speech at an Atlantic Council event on Nov. 9, Jessica Ruzic, deputy associate chief of policy at CISA, emphasized the need for a shift in mindset among government agencies and industry partners to counter China’s cyber dominance. She attributed China’s success in cyberspace to its centralized policies, substantial funding, and integration of civil-military efforts, which have significantly advanced its cyber capabilities.
“Where we differ from the PRC [People’s Republic of China] is primarily in … China’s mentality is that they are building something structural, and the U.S. mentality is that we are trying to solve a problem that’s right in front of us,” said Ruzic. “The U.S. government as a whole is not set up for long-term strategic thinking … and we have a tendency to view policy issues in a silo, rather than taking a step backwards and seeing how all the pieces are connected.”
“Frankly, the time to establish a foundational strategy for countering PRC malicious cyber activity was 20 years ago,” continued Ruzic.
While U.S. efforts like CISA’s Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative – which aims to strengthen public-private cooperation – have had success, the U.S. continues to fall behind in its information-sharing practices while China excels at data collection and integration.
With an unprecedented scale of espionage and cyberattacks, according to many Western governments, successful Chinese state-linked cyber groups have breached U.S. critical infrastructure, internet-connected devices, and conducted spear-phishing attacks. “The PRC is collecting real-time information about threats and vulnerabilities and can thus adapt their TTPs [tactics, techniques, and procedures] accordingly,” noted Ruzic.
Defending against mounting threats requires breaking down silos between deep experts on China and deep experts on cybersecurity – and enabling government and industry to partner together.
“There’s room for the USG [U.S. Government] to work even more closely with our allies and partners in the private sector to fund capacity building programs, exchange information, and develop solutions,” said Ruzic. “But this requires correcting the often-uneven exchange of information between industry and government.”
“We tend to describe information sharing partnerships as, okay, you private sector, give us government the information, the end, thank you for this equal collaboration,” she continued.
Closing capability gaps with China will also depend on bolstering the U.S. cyber workforce and securing consistent funding for cyber defense, Ruzic added. With long-term initiatives and strengthened partnerships, she expressed optimism that the U.S. can rise to meet the challenge.
