Intelligence Leaders: U.S. is in the Midst of a Cyber Cold War

The threat to U.S.-based computer networks is one of the country's most pressing security problems, and Congress needs to act on it soon, the director of national intelligence told a congressional panel today. James R. Clapper Jr. said he and all of the U.S. intelligence leadership agree the United States is in a type of cyber Cold War, losing some $300 billion annually to cyber-based corporate espionage, and sustaining daily intrusions against public systems controlling everything from major defense weapons systems and public air traffic to electricity and banking.