Digital security and reliability have to be priorities for our nuclear weapons complex /1

https://www.nti.org/newsroom/news/digitization-and-automation-us-nuclear-arsenal-carries-significant-risks-along-benefits-says-new-nti-study/ https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1339669287846506496

The public reporting has not made clear what systems at the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration have been impacted by the breach of #SolarWinds software, but this news is a reminder... /2

...that no government agency—including those that manage the world’s most dangerous weapons—are immune from infiltration. /3

The U.S. nuclear weapons complex is not a new target for espionage. Defending information against cyber intrusions has been an ongoing challenge for the DOE, though. This year's White House FISMA report this year rated the Department’s cybersecurity “at risk”/4

Meaning some essential policies and practices are in place to manage cybersecurity risk, but significant gaps remained across the Department’s disparate IT systems at national laboratories and federal sites around the US /5

Of course the DOE is part of an expansive effort to modernize U.S. nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles which will increase reliance on digital components and incorporate limited automation /6

Our recent report and recommendations point to the need for digital security against sophisticated adversaries to be just as high a priority as performance of modernized nuclear weapons. /7 https://www.nti.org/analysis/reports/nti-modernization-report-2020/

Leaders--executive branch and in oversight--must consider the risks of digital tools along with the benefits. Our nuclear policy and posture should take into account the implications of a digitized deterrent both here and in other countries with nuclear weapons. /8

Full report here: https://www.nti.org/analysis/reports/nti-modernization-report-2020/ //fin