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FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Senate Hearing on U.S. Cybersecurity Policy and Threats

Original title: UNITED STATES CYBERSECURITY POLICY AND THREATS

January 1, 2016

cybersecurity national security foreign policy defense strategy espionage intellectual property

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The Frame

What this does

This hearing addresses the government's strategy for responding to cyberattacks from foreign nations, which impacts national security, the protection of sensitive government data, and the security of critical infrastructure.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Department of Defense

The agency is responsible for implementing the cyberstrategy and defending military networks.

U.S. Private Sector

Companies are subject to economic espionage and intellectual property theft by foreign actors.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2016.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The Senate Committee on Armed Services held a hearing on September 29, 2015, to evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. cybersecurity policy against foreign adversaries. Witnesses from the Department of Defense and the intelligence community discussed the rise in cyberattacks against government and private sector networks.

Key Facts

The hearing took place on September 29, 2015, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The committee received testimony regarding cyberattacks attributed to Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia.
Recent targets of cyberattacks mentioned include the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon, and the Office of Personnel Management.
The Chairman noted that the Department of Defense's required cyberstrategy, mandated by the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, is over a year late.
The hearing addressed the lack of a formal U.S. deterrence strategy against state-sponsored cyber espionage and intellectual property theft.
Witnesses included the Director of National Intelligence, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Commander of U.S. Cyber Command.

Why It Matters

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the purpose of this hearing?

To review U.S. cybersecurity policy and address the increasing frequency and severity of cyberattacks against government and private networks.

Which countries were identified as sources of cyberattacks?

The hearing identified Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia as sources of cyberattacks against the United States.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Delayed Cyber Strategy

The committee explicitly noted that the Department of Defense was over a year late in delivering a cyberstrategy required by the 2014 NDAA.

Department of Defense Senate Committee on Armed Services

Connected Entities

personRobert O. Work“Deputy Secretary of Defense”Map →

personJames R. Clapper“Director of National Intelligence”Map →

personMichael S. Rogers“Commander of U.S. Cyber Command, Director of the NSA”Map →

personJohn McCain“Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services”Map →

organizationSenate Committee on Armed Services“Congressional committee overseeing the hearing”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance85
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy75
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment40
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz30
Current news / social attention level

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