At a glance.
- Neuberger tapped to oversee US Solorigate response.
- Congressional hearings on homeland security take up the SolarWinds supply chain compromise.
A SolarWinds czar.
Yesterday the Biden Administration revealed that Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger is leading the Solorigate response, according to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, following criticism from the Senate Intelligence Committee over the Administration’s “disjointed and disorganized” performance thus far. The committee chairman and vice chairman called the announcement “welcome news,” and expressed a desire for routine updates. Neuberger, who led point on Russia’s 2016 election meddling, is overseeing remediation, public-private collaboration, and Federal response efforts, and supervising a review of the incident.
Congress takes up the fifth domain (and creates a subcommittee for it).
The Federal News Network notes the House Armed Services Committee has added a Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems Subcommittee devoted to “cyber force structure, the newest combatant commands, artificial intelligence, cyber infrastructure and supply chain safety.” The committee chairman, Representative Langevin (Democrat, Rhode Island 2nd), observed, “Our success in great power competition is going to rely on sophisticated coordinated digital capabilities.”
Langevin added that he expects the Pentagon will need more cyber teams to bolster defend forward, while other divisions may require streamlining and restructuring. He voiced support for the Cyber Solarium Commission and National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence’s legislative proposals, in addition to the Cyber Diplomacy bill, which would create a State Department office on cyber. The Defense Department’s stalled JEDI contract is another concern of his: “it really does need to be a single cloud,” he commented.
Solorigate hearings tune into cyber authorities.
Cybersecurity experts advised the US House Homeland Security Committee yesterday that Solorigate spotlighted the need for major changes, CyberScoop and Auburn Citizen report. One former official compared the current cyber situation to the stock market pre-Securities and Exchange Commission, and argued for incentivizing private sector information sharing. Others recommended that over one-hundred Government agencies farm out key cybersecurity responsibilities to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which has capacities most departments lack, in order to meet basic standards and follow a “comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.” The Federal Information Security Modernization Act also came up for critique, due to its expense.