WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a full committee hearing today on Cybersecurity: Next Steps to Protect Our Critical Infrastructure.

Witness List:

Vice Admiral Michael McConnell (USN, Ret.), Executive Vice President, National Security Business, Booz Allen Hamilton

Dr. James A. Lewis, Director and Senior Fellow, Technology and Public Policy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Mr. Scott Borg, Director and Chief Economist, U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit

Ms. Mary Ann Davidson, Chief Security Officer, Oracle Corporation

Rear Admiral James Arden Barnett Jr. (USN, Ret.), Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Federal Communications Commission

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“Too much is at stake for us to pretend that today’s outdated cybersecurity policies are up to the task of protecting our nation and economic infrastructure. We have heard the reassurances and seen the best efforts of many in the private sector working to secure their networks. But it is clear that even the largest, most sophisticated companies are not immune from attack. We have to do better and that means it will take a level of coordination and sophistication to outmatch our adversaries and minimize this enormous threat. It is that simple. We cannot wait for a crisis to occur, the consequences would be far too grave. This is the time to come together, public and private, working in unison to build a new, strong cybersecurity partnership for the 21st century.”

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

“If we were in a cyberwar today, the United States would lose. The federal government will spend more each year on missile defense than it does on Cybersecurity, despite the fact that we are attacked thousands of times each day in cyberspace and we are vulnerable to attacks of strategic significance. Securing cyberspace will require a more robust commitment in terms of leadership, policies, legislation, and resources than has been evident in the past.”

Vice Admiral Michael McConnell (USN, Ret.), Executive Vice President, National Security Business, Booz Allen Hamilton

“The internet was not designed to be secure; the rules and contracts put in place when it was commercialized were not written with security in mind. So the issue for the nation is how to bring law to the Wild West, how to move from a do-it-yourself homebrew approach to cybersecurity, and how to secure a global digital infrastructure upon which we now depend. Legislation like the Cybersecurity Act 0f 2010 can play a crucial role.”

Dr. James A. Lewis, Director and Senior Fellow, Technology and Public Policy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

“The biggest large-scale growth opportunities for the American economy also depend on better cyber security. This is because nearly all of the more innovative ways of creating value need information technology to be implemented efficiently.”

Mr. Scott Borg, Director and Chief Economist, U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit

“We need to change our collective mindset so that elements of critical cyber infrastructure are designed, developed and delivered to be secure. We do that in part by changing the educational system so that we have a cadre of people who know that critical cyber infrastructure will be attacked - and they build accordingly and defensively.”

Ms. Mary Ann Davidson, Chief Security Officer, Oracle Corporation

“We cannot allow the absence of a successful attack make us complacent. The FCC has an important role to play in securing broadband communications infrastructures. We are the Congressionally-mandated regulatory agency with authority over communications providers and communications networks. We must face the new reality that cyber threat now imperils our communications networks and therefore our wellbeing and even lives.”

Rear Admiral James Arden Barnett Jr. (USN, Ret.), Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Federal Communications Commission 

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