Citing quotes by Defense Undersecretary Frank Kendall about the Pentagon’s new focus on cybersecurity and “hack-proofing” weapons from a recent Reuters interview, John Shegerian, Chairman and CEO of Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the nation’s leading recycler of electronic waste, has issued a public statement commending the government’s initiative and describing cybertheft as the “most challenging of threats” to our national security.

The article details recent comments Kendall, the nation’s chief arms buyer, made in his interview with Reuters, including the fact that he is very concerned with “…the security of our weapons systems themselves and everything that touches them. It’s a pervasive problem and I think we have to pay a lot more attention to it.”

“Reuters’ report on this subject – and Undersecretary Kendall’s comments – illustrate just how serious a problem cybercrime has become,” said Shegerian. “Be it a smartphone, consumer laptop or a missile designed to protect our country, technology today is far too vulnerable to the attacks of cyber thieves.”

In the interview, Kendall also told Reuters that he planned to add cybersecurity to the next phase of his “better buying power” initiative, and was working on a special section on cybersecurity requirements to be added to the Pentagon’s guidelines for buying weapons.

“With current technological innovations, there is very fast turnover when it comes to computers, laptops and other electronic devices,” Shegerian added. “Properly recycling all old and unwanted items – military or otherwise – here in the United States, is crucially important for so many reasons. Our digital security, our environment and the reliability of the new devices we purchase, all rest in the balance of us recycling the right way.”