Cybersecurity

Government shutdown lays out "welcome mat" for hackers, security experts warn

Cybersecurity experts are worried that the United States is at greater risk of cyberattack due to the federal government shutdown.

Maintaining the nation's robust cyber-defense infrastructure—including hardware and software systems—relies on thousands of now-furloughed employees. With fewer trained professionals monitoring U.S. digital systems, the country is at greater risk of attack, data theft, and falling behind in the cyber arms race, experts say.

A large percentage of workers at two of the nation's most important cyber-defense agencies are not working due to the partial government shutdown. According to the MIT Technology Review, approximately 45 percent of employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, and 85 percent of staffers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the department in charge of maintaining cybersecurity standards, are on furlough.