Photo: Virginia National Guard
As thousands of National Guard troops pour into Washington to provide security for the Jan. 20 inauguration of Joe Biden as president, cybersecurity analysts are calling attention to the need to defend against cyber incidents as well. I expect there is some elevated risk of a cybersecurity attack, especially from those who want to demonstrate the country is in chaos and to undermine democracy, says Phil Reitinger, a former director of the National Cyber Security Center who’s now president and CEO of the Global Cyber Alliance.
Security experts say potential risks could include attacks on critical infrastructure tied to the inauguration and threat actors using the event as a distraction that enables a major attack elsewhere in the U.S. The inaugural also could trigger the spread of disinformation.