Sen Rounds Is Ready to Lead New Cybersecurity Subcommittee

Sen Mike Rounds (R-SD), chairman of the recently created Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, views cyberspace like any other battleground. “Cyberwar is more than simply stealing emails,” Chairman Rounds said. “Cyberwar is where you’re doing damage that, if it was done using a different weapon — a kinetic weapon, a bomb or a missile — everyone would say, ‘Look, you just damaged our infrastructure. You just messed up the New York Stock Exchange. You just blew up a dam.’”

In Chairman Rounds’ view, there is little difference between a missile attack on key US targets and a cyberattack that accomplishes the same kind of destruction. Chairman Rounds said the cybersecurity panel’s first task will be to help the Defense Department craft guidelines for responding to cyberattacks — particularly those perpetrated by hostile states — that mirror the way the Pentagon responds to bombs and bullets.