From PBS NewsHour:  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told NewsHour senior correspondent Ray Suarez on Friday that cyber attacks on the United States are on the rise, and internationally, three countries are the biggest sources: Iran, Russia and China. . . .

"It’s a big problem and it’s been growing in frequency and sophistication in the four plus years I’ve been secretary," said Napolitano. The threats can be anything from "hacktivists" to state actors either trying to steal the United States’ innovative ideas or simply do harm, she said.

"There are a number of countries that we see attacks emanating from — and again they can be just individuals who are located in the country — but three that are I think of special concern would be Iran, Russia, and China."

In an effort to protect the nation’s infrastructure, including electricity grids, telecommunications networks and water supplies, from cyber menace, President Obama signed an executive order Tuesday that directs government agencies to come up with a set of voluntary security standards that companies in charge of the infrastructure can adopt. . . .

The Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center in Arlington, Va., is the epicenter where the increased sharing of information between the government and private sector will take place.

The facility, which includes 70 computer stations positioned in front of large screens of digital information, has a rotating staff that monitors the health of computer networks around the country 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A large map of the United States shows the individual states as blue if their Internet traffic is behaving normally. If sensors on their networks detect a particularly high level of computer viruses being sent via email or the Internet, the states appear green. A recent visit showed 11 in this condition.   (photo: Daniel Sagalyn/NewsHour)

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