China Sees Gaps in U.S. Defenses, Ousted National Security Official Says
Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, the former head of both the National Security Agency and Cyber Command, gave his first interview since he was fired.
China is taking advantage of gaps in American defenses, as its cyberprogram poses a core challenge to the United States, the former director of the National Security Agency said in an interview.
Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, the former head of both the N.S.A. and U.S. Cyber Command, said there were weaknesses in American cyberdefenses that the Chinese government was trying to exploit. While cybersecurity and cloud computing firms are trying to improve their defenses, China is constantly looking for vulnerabilities, areas that neither kinds of firms are focusing enough of their attention on.
General Haugh was forced out of his positions in April after Laura Loomer, a right-wing conspiracy theorist and Trump adviser, accused him — without evidence — of disloyalty. In a social media post, Ms. Loomer said General Haugh had been chosen by Gen. Mark A. Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was critical of Mr. Trump and whom she called a traitor.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers lamented General Haugh’s dismissal. Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said General Haugh’s firing made the country less safe. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former Republican leader, said he “couldn’t figure out” what the Trump administration wanted in its senior national security figures.
