Senators observe simulated cyberattack

According to Senate aides, all 100 senators were invited to a cybersecurity exercise on March 7 featuring top executive branch officials. The simulation demonstrated how the federal government would respond to an attack on the New York City electrical grid during a summer heat wave, the aides said.

The FBI, the National Security Agency and John Brennan, the president's top counterterrorism adviser, participated in the demonstration. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) requested that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) hold the event, based on a similar exercise after the anthrax attacks in 2001. "Today, an interagency team of senior officials, coordinated by the White House, will brief the Senate on a hypothetical cyber attack against United States critical infrastructure networks," said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. "The classified scenario is intended to provide all senators with an appreciation for new legislative authorities that would help the U.S. Government prevent and more quickly respond to cyber attacks."