On Saturday night, CNN will air an exclusive interview from Friday afternoon with Karen Gibson, the Senate sergeant-at-arms. A clip has been released ahead of time, though, where Gibson warns another January 6 is not her biggest concern. Rather, it's a cyberattack on the Capitol.
Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson tells @PamelaBrownCNN that the threat of a cyberattack on the Capitol, not another riot or insurrection, is what worries her the most. https://t.co/uiVdTGJd7x pic.twitter.com/pGbjUgHC4W
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) June 4, 2021
"I worry a lot more about cybersecurity than I do about another mob attacking the Capitol. Certainly our networks are, have attempted intrusions every single day. And so cyber security for me is a much greater concern than the prospect of thousands of people storming the West Terrace," she said.
The January 6 riot at the Capitol has been compared to 9/11 in all sorts of ways.
Those who supported a commission on the events of January 6 have called for a 9/11 styled commission. There are those who use their platforms to say that January 6 was worse than the day when 2,977 lost their lives, thanks to the terrorist attacks on 9/11, such as David Mastio, an editor for USA Today. Kurt Bardella, formerly of the Lincoln Project said that as a result, the GOP is worse than Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban.
President Joe Biden, however, completely bypassed 9/11 when he claimed in his joint address before Congress on April 29 that January 6 was "the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War."
But there is a comparison that Gibson can get behind. In an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal from Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray compared ransomware attacks to 9/11.
When asked if she agreed, Gibson shared that "I think, whether it's ransomware or other cyber security threats, yes, I actually, again I see cyber security as my greater concern than a mob attacking the Capitol."
Gibson and Wray are not the only ones with such warnings. As Leah recently reported, Chris Butera, head of Threat Hunting for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, warned on Wednesday during a virtual summit that such attacks have become "more brazen" and he worries they will likely continue.
Last week, as Leah also reported, JBS, which is the world's largest meat producer and the U.S.'s top beef producer, was the victim of a cyberattack.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had a glib response for Fox News reporter Peter Doocy about the attack, when he pointed out that "ransomware attacks have been rising since President Biden took office." Psaki said "I think you could certainly go track down those cyber criminals in Russia and have a good chat with them," after also pointing out that "private sector entities... have a responsibility to put in place measures to protect their own cybersecurity."
After NBC's Peter Alexander pressed Jen Psaki on why have we seen two massive cyber attacks on a gas pipeline and now meatpacking since Biden took office, Fox's Peter Doocy gives it a shot and wonders why are these happening now.
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 2, 2021
Psaki blames the corporations for getting hacked. pic.twitter.com/KugJ8inTzU
The attack on JBS comes less than a month after the Colonial Pipeline was hacked, resulting in gas shortages and rising gas prices.