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Thursday, November 7, 2024

“Cybersecurity (Executive Session)” published by Congressional Record in the Senate section on June 9

Politics 12 edited

Volume 167, No. 100, covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress (2021 - 2022), was published by the Congressional Record.

The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.

“Cybersecurity (Executive Session)” mentioning John Thune was published in the Senate section on pages S4001-S4002 on June 9.

Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.

The publication is reproduced in full below:

Cybersecurity

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, last week, we learned that global meat processing company JBS, one of the four meatpacking companies responsible for more than 80 percent of beef processing operations, had suffered a ransomeware attack. The attack temporarily shuttered the company's U.S. beef plants, threatening the beef supply and leaving ranchers wondering once again whether they would be able to sell their cattle.

The JBS attack highlights two important issues. The first is cyber security. The rise of ransomeware attacks on critical industries and infrastructure represents a serious threat.

Less than a month before the ransomeware attack on meatpacking, ransomeware criminals hacked the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies gasoline and jet fuel to the east coast. The Colonial attack caused fuel shortages and drove up gas prices, with many consumers facing gas station lines that hearkened back to the oil crisis of the 1970s.

In today's society, where almost everything we do has a cyber component, ransomeware and other malicious cyber attacks carry the potential to seriously disrupt our way of life.

Cyber security needs to be one of our top priorities. Private companies need to invest in cyber security, to keep their systems and customer data secure, and the Federal Government has to invest in it as a matter of national security. We can't afford to let hostile individuals or hostile governments hack key government databases or functions.

I was proud to be a lead sponsor of the HACKED Act, which became law as part of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. This legislation focuses on enhancing both public and private cyber security development. It bolsters science education and cyber security programs at multiple government Agencies, and enhances partnerships between universities and employers on cyber security workforce needs.

We need to continue to make cyber security training a priority. We also need to send a clear message to governments that harbor cyber attackers. It is obvious that Russia remains a haven for cyber criminals. Both the Colonial Pipeline and JBS attacks were the work of Russia-linked hackers, and we need to make it clear to Russia and other countries that we have no tolerance for the harboring of cyber criminals.

SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 100

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