FBI Director Comey details strategy to curtail cyber intrusions

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey delivered a keynote address at the inaugural Boston Conference on Cybersecurity last week and laid out the bureau’s five-part strategy to address various cyber intrusions.

The conference is part of a partnership between the FBI and Boston College’s Cybersecurity Policy and Governance master’s degree program. It featured expert panelists that covered areas, such as emerging technologies, operations and enforcement, compliance, policy, threat trends, preparedness, and defensive strategies.

Comey said the “bad actors” that were committing cyber crimes included nation-states, multinational cyber syndicates, insiders, and terrorist groups.

The bureau’s strategy to address cyber intrusions included a better focus on who the FBI hires, clarifying investigative responsibilities at home while enhancing cooperation abroad, imposing costs on cyber intrusions with increased penalties and sanctions, enhancing digital literacy of state and local partners, and improving collaboration with private sector entities.

“We’re not only worried about loss of data, but corruption of that data and lack of access to our own information,” Comey said.

Comey added that the public and private sectors can assist in deterring criminal behavior by reducing vulnerabilities and holding accountable those who cause serious damage to cyber infrastructure.