McCaul urges Obama administration to expedite Cyber Defense
HOUSTON – Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX 10) warned that the Obama administration is moving too slow implementing a strategy to defend the nation’s critical infrastructure computer networks from cyber attacks. McCaul delivered his remarks at Rice University’s James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy three months after the President announced plans to prioritize cyber defense. Since then, however, the White House has taken little action to secure our networks, and its interim cybersecurity coordinator has resigned.
“This threat’s not going away,” said Rep. McCaul, referring to the July 4th weekend denial of service attack against several federal agencies. “When you see these attacks more malicious in nature designed to do harm, that’s very concerning. I don’t think we have the luxury of a lot of time and I urge the administration to start moving forward with a plan.”
Congressmen McCaul and Jim Langevin (D-RI) co-chaired the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th President. They presented the report Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency, to President Obama’s administration which detailed recommendations for securing the country’s government networks and critical infrastructure, including telecommunications, energy and water.
The President’s plan released in May included most of the CSIS recommendations. Among the highest is to elevate the responsibility of cybersecurity to the Executive Office of the President to create better coordination between DOD, DHS and NSA – the agencies that identify, protect against and respond to cyber intrusions.
The July 4th weekend breach that temporarily shut down several federal agencies is widely believed to have originated in North Korea, though the source of the attack has not been confirmed. Rep. McCaul, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee, says evidence from the attack indicates it was an attempt to do damage to networks and perhaps test U.S. response in order to lay the groundwork for more serious attacks of networks linked to government agencies or critical infrastructure.
Moving forward, McCaul urges the administration to waste no time installing a cybersecurity coordinator who is given adequate authority to coordinate with defense and intelligence agencies, as this is the initial step in enacting a comprehensive cyber defense strategy.