Thread by @jseldin

"Some of the leading threats to the American way of life are #cyber enabled - from espionage to influence to attack" Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber Anne Neuberger tells #AspenSecurity

Sanctions vs #Russia but not #China for malign #cyber behavior?

"#SolarWinds was not the 1st case of aggressive Russian cyber activity in int'l space" per @WHNSC's Neuberger

"In the case of #China, there's still that building of consensus around malicious cyber activity, around the need to call it out together" w/allies, per @WHNSC's Neuberger, adding that it "doesn't preclude follow-on activity"

#cyber

"You haven't previously seen a president engaging both in private & in public to define our expectations, to define that norm...& really make clear our expectations" per @WHNSC's Neuberger

Imposing costs for malign #cyber behavior - "We've conveyed that that is an option but we want to work through what we can" per @WHNSC's Neuberger

"The most effective way to address #ransomware & other disruptive #cyber activity coming from with another country's borders is within that country's leadership, shaping their expectations & shaping their calculations" per @WHNSC's Neuberger

"Given the fact that we do have gaps in security across our critical infrastructure, we knew that addressing that 1st & foremost was [a] priority" per @WHNSC's Neuberger

.@SangerNYT: "Part of what you're saying to us is bcs we haven't built up our resilience yet...that's a limitation on our ability to use offensive weapons...you couldn't really control the escalation"

Neuberger: "It's a factor in thoughtful consideration of options & strategy"

#Russia coming around on #cyber/critical critical infrastructure?

"The proof will be in the pudding" per @WHNSC's Neuberger "We think we're seeing a commitment and we will look to see the actions that follow up on that commitment"

#Ransomware-"We know that ransom payments are driving this ecosystem" per @WHNSC's Neuberger

But "we heard loud & clear from many that the state of resilience is inadequate & as such if we banned ransom payments we would essentially drive even more of that activity underground"

Banning #ransomware payments-"That's not an approach we can do at this moment in time" per @WHNSC's Neuberger

"We really pressed companies to say, make the investments in cyber security gives you a better return on investment"

Virtual currencies: "Our driving goal is a rapid tracing & interdiction, really the strengthening of domestic & international virtual currency regulatory environments to enable that" per Neuberger "also building in those cyber protections in the design of new virtual currencies"

#Russia-"I think we've certainly seen a willingness to participate in these voluntary norms, what responsible state behavior in #cyberspace is" per @WHNSC's Neuberger "Now the question will be when when behavior is flagged, do countries act on it"