美国国家公共电台 NPR Sounding The Alarm About A New Russian Cyber Threat

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The United States and the U.K. issued this rare joint¹ alert last week warning that Russia is actively² preparing for a future cyberwar against the West. Jeanette Manfra is the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity chief, and she says one dangerous technique is called spoofing.

JEANETTE MANFRA: It allows an actor to pretend that they're the computer or the device that you think you're talking to. So they get into the middle of the connection between two different devices, and they can spy traffic that is going back and forth³. They can manipulate the traffic.

GREENE: Rachel Martin spoke⁴ to Manfra about this threat.

MANFRA: This is very focused on what we call enterprise, or even small office or home office routers and switches. So these are the devices that basically make networks work. And what that means is that if somebody is sitting on those routers or those switches, they have full access to all of that data, all of your communications. They can see that. They can potentially manipulate that. And they have pretty broad access then to your network.

RACHEL MARTIN, BYLINE⁵: So that sounds horrible.

MANFRA: I agree.

MARTIN: Can I ask what has transpired⁶ to make this threat more severe now?

MANFRA: We've issued previous alerts, but what we saw was that it was not reaching far enough and wide enough. Not enough people had access to this and knew to take action, so we felt that we needed to get it out to as many businesses, as many even home offices as possible, which necessitated⁷ a public alert.

MARTIN: All right, so now let's tackle the solutions because there will be a lot of people out there who hear this and start to get real nervous about the idea of a cyberwarrior out of Russia getting into their home computer network. So how do you fix this?

MANFRA: So it's reasonably simple. The vendor⁸ of the network infrastructure⁹ device, whether that's a router or a switch - the vendors¹⁰ are putting out guidance or have been putting out guidance that are specific to the make and the model of their network device. So organizations - you know, they need to go check what the vendor is, the make and the model. You can get online. You can download the vendor guidance for how to address it.

MARTIN: So that's what an individual can do. What are you doing? What is the federal government's responsibility in trying to prevent these kind of attacks? And what can you do?

MANFRA: We've been issuing guidance and alerts on whether it's vulnerabilities that we see - we've been issuing a series of alerts on North Korean activity. But, of course, we want to continue to ensure that there are consequences for malicious¹¹ behavior. My department is focused on defense¹² and ensuring that network defenders¹³ have what they need, but there are other tools that the government has to deter¹⁴ this activity, whether that's sanctions, criminal penalties, diplomatic engagement. There's a lot that the government is doing to try to impose consequences on this type of irresponsible behavior.

MARTIN: If you see the threat increasing, though, are you satisfied with the punitive¹⁵ measures that have been put in place against Russia? Should the sanctions be more severe? Should there be more targeted repercussions¹⁶?

MANFRA: I believe the sanctions are pretty severe. And I also believe that publicly naming government for this type of behavior is important. And then, of course, I believe in the continued efforts of law enforcement to identify and prosecute¹⁷ those who are breaking our laws.

MARTIN: Does the U.S. view a cyberwar as an actual war or a cyberattack in the same way that they perceive, for example, a physical attack on American infrastructure? If a power grid¹⁸ is disabled because of a cyberattack, and the result is that the power grid is down, how is that different than if it's bombed?

MANFRA: That is a great question. And I would say this has been a question that our government has been thinking about for some time. I think about it in terms of actions against our critical infrastructure and our country that would have consequences about public health or safety or economic security. We would take that very, very seriously.

MARTIN: What's the scenario¹⁹ that troubles you most?

MANFRA: That we will miss something. We are doing everything that we can to ensure that that doesn't happen, but we need individuals - consumers, citizens - and we need companies to all recognize that they have a role to play in keeping this Internet ecosystem²⁰ safe.

MARTIN: Jeanette Manfra is in charge of cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security. Thank you so much for talking with us.

MANFRA: Thank you.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

7 necessitated   

使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Recent financial scandals have necessitated changes in parliamentary procedures. 最近的金融丑闻使得议会程序必须改革。
• No man is necessitated to do wrong. 没有人是被迫去作错事的。

8 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

15 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

16 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

18 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

19 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

20 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。