WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), urged the Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Commerce, in separate letters, to “commit to making the cybersecurity of the Department’s systems a top priority and that you keep the Committee informed as you plan to implement this effort.”
 
Excerpt from the letter to Secretary Elaine Chao, the Secretary of Transportation:
 
“Last month, the Committee held a hearing entitled, ‘A Look Ahead: Inspector General Recommendations for Improving Federal Agencies.’  At the hearing, Department of Transportation Inspector General Calvin L. Scovel III testified that cybersecurity remains a significant challenge as technology evolves and threats proliferate.  Recent Office of Inspector General reports have found the Department’s cybersecurity program remains ineffective and many of its information security controls are deficient.  More broadly, the Government Accountability Office has made approximately 2,500 recommendations to improve information security programs across the federal government over the past several years.  Departments and agencies have yet to implement many of these recommendations.”
 
The full letter to Secretary Chao may be viewed here and the full letter to Secretary Ross may be viewed here. The Departments of Commerce and Transportation are the two departments that fall primarily under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee.