Cyber Insecurity

You don’t have to go to the movies to assess this threat. Every hour of every day, global gangs and thinly-veiled government probes are poring through digital America — through corporate secrets and the Pentagon, Obama and McCain campaign files, White House e-mail, front-line American military bases.

A big new report says it has to be stopped. But can it be?

This hour, On Point: Cyber insecurity, out of control.Guests:

Joining us from Washington is Siobhan Gorman, intelligence correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Her article in this morning's paper, "New Cyber Security Push Is Urged," looks at the recommendations of a report released today by the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency.

From Norwich, Vermont, we're joined by Scott Borg, director and chief economist at the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit, a non-profit research institute that investigates strategic and economic consequences of possible cyber-attacks. He’s a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, which is set to release a new report today urging President-elect Obama to deal head-on with issues of cyber insecurity.

From Washington, D.C., we're joined by Julie Ryan, associate professor of engineering management, systems engineering, and information secuirty management at George Washington University. She’s been closely following the issues around our cyber security for years.

Joining us from Monterey, Calif., is John Arquilla, professor of defense analysis at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He specializes in unconventional warfare and terrorism and is the author of "Worst Enemy: The Reluctant Transformation of the American Military" (2008) and "Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy" (2002).