Even US security officials say the country's cyber defences are inadequate, according to a report from NPR.

Cybersecurity specialists say too few people are moving into the field to support US national security objectives.

There is a desperate shortage of people with the necessary skills, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Experts in the field say it takes very skilled people to be able to deal with vulnerabilities in basic technologies as well as the applications built on top of them.

Estimates put the number of sufficiently skilled cybersecurity experts in the US at around 1,000. That is far below the 20,000 to 30,000 cybersecurity personel the country needs.

This is in sharp contrast to China, where the training of cybersecurity experts is a national priority, supported by annual competitions aimed at recruiting youngsters.

In an attempt to follow China's example, the US is running a national cyber challenge to find up to 10,000 potential cyberwarriors in schools.

This article was first published by Computer Weekly