WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., and Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del, Thursday welcomed the White House proposal to protect Americans from catastrophic cyber attack as an important step toward reaching a legislative solution.
“The White House cybersecurity proposal released today is a welcome and necessary addition to the work we have been doing for the past several years to safeguard the American people from a cyber 9/11,” Lieberman, Collins, and Carper said in a joint statement. “We know that private sector and government systems are probed daily by hackers, criminals, foreign nations, and terrorists and are frequently compromised. We also know that we need stronger defenses against these intrusions.
“The Senate and the White House are on the same track to make sure our cyber networks are protected against an attack that could throw the nation into chaos. We both recognize that the government and the private sector must work together to secure our nation’s most critical infrastructure, for example, our energy, water, financial, telecommunications, and transportation systems. We both call for risk-based assessments of the systems and assets that run that infrastructure. We both designate the Department of Homeland Security to lead this effort, with the assistance of other federal agencies. And we both encourage the government and the private sector to use and refine best practices honed over years of experience.
“We look forward to working with the Administration to enact comprehensive cybersecurity legislation that puts our most critical infrastructure on a firm security footing.”
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