Last week’s U.S. intelligence report tracing Russia’s cyber-meddling with the 2016 presidential election is a timely reminder of the cybersecurity risks that the government and private companies face, said Tom Ridge, the nation’s first secretary of Homeland Security.
“President-elect Trump is entering into a world fraught with hazards as never before,” Ridge said in a telephone interview on Monday. “Russia is a reminder that cyberattacks are a permanent risk to individuals and countries and companies, and you must do all you can to understand the risk. It’s a reminder of how serious and permanent the risk is. The risk continues to get deeper.”
Ridge, who is also a former Republican governor of Pennsylvania, is chairman of Ridge Global, a Washington-based cyber protection advisory firm. He was named by President George W. Bush to head the Department of Homeland Security, which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He held the post from 2003 to 2005….SOURCE