'This Is Harder Than Getting A Rocket To Orbit': X Owner Elon Musk On Fixing US Govt's IT Dept Amid Rise In Cyberattacks
X owner Elon Musk while responding to this post, wrote, “My goal is to fix government IT! This is harder than getting a rocket to orbit. Actually.”
US has been grappling with cybersecurity vulnerabilities for a long time now and X owner Elon Musk has now expressed his willingness to address this within the US government. In an X post, Musk claimed that he could 'fix' the government’s Information Technology (IT) department. He went on to call this task “harder than getting a rocket to orbit.”
These comments from the tech titan came in response to a recent cyberattack on the US Treasury Department by Chinese hackers.
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Elon Musk On US Treasury Cyberattack
The discussion started when Arthur MacWaters, a user on X, shared an article about Chinese state-sponsored hackers breaching the US Treasury Department’s systems. In his post, MacWaters proposed that Elon Musk could significantly enhance the US government’s IT infrastructure, stating, “We need Elon not just for DOGE, we need him to be the government's IT person.”
Musk while responding to this post, wrote, “My goal is to fix government IT! This is harder than getting a rocket to orbit. Actually,” further emphasising the complexity of the challenge.
My goal is to fix government IT!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 18, 2025
This is harder than getting a rocket to orbit. Actually.
Elon Musk’s willingness to assist in upgrading government IT systems reflects his well-known reputation for technical prowess. The entrepreneur has often demonstrated confidence in his ability to tackle complex challenges. In a separate post, Musk reacted to a throwback photo of himself as a child, where his mother, Maye Musk, fondly referred to him as her “encyclopedia and tech expert.” He acknowledged his role and replied, “I am good at tech support.”
US Dealing With An Increase In Cyber Threats
Elon Musk’s remarks come amidst mounting concerns over a series of high-profile cyberattacks targeting the U.S. government. In December 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department disclosed that Chinese state-sponsored hackers had exploited a flaw in BeyondTrust, a third-party cybersecurity provider, to access unclassified government documents. This breach, attributed to a Chinese Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group, has highlighted critical vulnerabilities in government systems.
The Treasury breach is part of a larger surge in cyberattacks aimed at the U.S. In December 2024, major telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon were impacted by a large-scale hack dubbed “Salt Typhoon,” reportedly linked to China and considered one of the most significant intelligence compromises in U.S. history. Furthermore, in November 2024, the Department of Defense faced a serious breach where attackers accessed sensitive data on weapons development.
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