Adversaries are toying with U.S. networks and D.C. is short on answers

McCrary Institute Director Frank Cillufo led a panel on the cyber outlook in Washington on Tuesday at the RSA Conference in San Francisco with former Cyberspace Solarium Commission Executive Director Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery (ret.) and former NSA Deputy Director George Barnes, both McCrary senior fellows, and House Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee staff directors Alexandra Seymour and Moira Bergin. (McCrary Institute)

By Becky Bracken • May 01, 2025

Nation-state adversaries are lurking in U.S. critical infrastructure networks right now, but government officials who came to speak at this year’s RSA conference in San Francisco were short on solutions.

A panel of policymakers this week were very clear on the threat. Salt Typhoon, a China-backed threat group, is particularly scary, having demonstrated uncanny skill in breaching sensitive networks. In fact, panel moderator Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University, said Salt Typhoon’s attacks represent the most egregious cyber espionage against the U.S. ever, adding it crossed a “red line.” However, to date, there has been no penalty imposed.

“That’s bullsh*t,” retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery responded. “We should be tackling this with a sense of urgency.”