On Tuesday, the US intelligence chief described China and Russia as prominent players in cyberspace, while considering a report that proposed the enhancement of cybersecurity as a national priority.

Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, said that a four-year blueprint for the intelligence community - dubbed the 2009 National Intelligence Strategy (NIS) - enhances the significance of the challenges dealt within the cyber domain.

Though the NIS did not mention any specific country as a cyber threat; however, Blair, while talking to reporters, singled out China and Russia.
He informed reporters, "China is very aggressive in the cyberworld. So is Russia and others."

"Foreign entities, including state and non-state actors, aggressive extremist groups, cyber intruders, and illegal organizations are more and more undermining US interests in countless and increasing ways," warned the NIS. 

The report said: "Globalization of the marketplace and the openness of modern information networks have enabled our adversary's goals.  At the tactical level, they are intent on penetrating our critical infrastructure, information systems, and leading industries."

The report suggested the implementation of counter-intelligence measures across the cyber domain, in order to safeguard major infrastructure.

The NIS explained, "Among the missions of the intelligence community should be to understand, detect, and counter adversary cyber threats to enable protection of the nation's information infrastructure."