Senators Seek Answers on Shutdown Impact on Cybersecurity

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Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) fired off a letter to the Department of Homeland Security seeking to "better understand the shutdown’s toll on our national security," and sought answers on what, if any, cybersecurity risks were posed by the recent, and possibly future, government shutdown(s). "Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was forced to suspend crucial efforts to protect our cybersecurity and infrastructure," said Sen Warner. "Also hindered was the FBI’s ability to conduct cyber investigations. Some agents reported lacking the funds to pay their confidential human sources, therefore losing critical information and irreplaceable sources." Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a similar letter to DHS and the National Security Agency. The senators were responding to reports that the nation's cybersecurity teams were operating with less than half their staffs during the shutdown and that scores of government agencies' websites were either insecure or inaccessible because their security certifications had expired. 

 


Senate Dems Seek Answers on Shutdown Impact on Cybersecurity