The Government is Trying to Get Serious About Cyber as a Foreign Policy Issue

After a string of high-profile Internet attacks directed at the US government and private sector, Congress and the executive branch are trying to get serious about treating cyberwarfare as a foreign policy issue -- especially when it comes to addressing threats from China and Russia. But it's slow going.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee added cybersecurity to the portfolio of one of its subpanels, which had its first hearing on May 14th. Yet only two members showed up: Senate Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy Chairman Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-MD). Cybersecurity has captured the attention of Congress this session, taking center stage in hearings and legislation that focus on companies' policies of notifying customers about data breaches, cyberthreat information sharing between the government and private sector, and the value of built-in backdoors on consumer devices that would allow the government to access encrypted communications on iPhones and other gadgets. But the foreign policy angle hasn't captured Congress's imagination just yet. About an hour into the hearing, Ranking Member Cardin left for another committee meeting, leaving the Chairman outnumbered by the panel of witnesses.