AN OMINOUS PREDICTION

National Security Agency (NSA) Director Paul Nakasone predicted Tuesday that the rate of ransomware attacks will not slow down in the next five years, and said efforts to counter those threats must remain constant as well.

“Every single day,” Nakasone said when asked how often the U.S. would face ransomware attacks in five years, during a conversation at cybersecurity firm Mandiant’s Cyber Defense Summit Tuesday.

“We are persistently engaged, and being persistently engaged, you have unique insights that you can develop, you have unique capabilities you can bring forward, there are matters upon which you can engage your adversaries,” said Nakasone, who also serves as commander of U.S. Cyber Command. “I think if you leave that, then your adversaries have determined in due course what they are going to do.”

Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia, whose company responds to ransomware attacks and other cyber incidents, noted the need to “keep the uniform on” following Nakasone’s prediction around ransomware attacks.