Tag: Cybersecurity

Daines, Pfluger Call on Congress to Fully Fund Rip and Replace Program

U.S. Senator Steve Daines and Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) led a letter urging Congress to pass the “Supporting National Security with Spectrum Act” to fully fund the Rip and Replace program. “It is estimated that there are over 6,000 sites across the United States in need of this funding. Without it, Chinese equipment will continue to pose a significant national security risk to the United States homeland. Additionally, several recipients of previously deployed funding would have to shut down their networks, leaving many rural and remote areas of the country without access to basic broadband services,” they wrote. Read the full

Daines Introduces Amendment to Prevent Cell Service Loss in Rural Montana Communities

U.S. Senator Steve Daines today introduced an amendment to the foreign aid emergency funding bill that would fully fund the “Rip and Replace” program that would remove Chinese components from the United States’ wireless communications systems. Without full funding, wireless and broadband providers across the United States will be saddled with billions of dollars in costs that could result in service blackouts and companies closing down, including many in eastern Montana. “Wireless security is national security, said Daines. “To that end, removing Chinese telecom equipment from our wireless networks is a matter of national security. Rural providers must have the resources and ability to

Daines Prioritizes National Security and Secures Air Support for Nuclear Weapons

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today worked to bolster aviation security, cybersecurity and nuclear security. The Senate Committee on Appropriations today marked up and passed the Fiscal Year 2017 Defense Appropriations Bill and Fiscal Year 2017 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. “It’s unconscionable to imagine that our nuclear warheads do not have adequate air security,” Daines stated. “With my provisions and additional funding, we will have the needed air support for our nuclear weapons until the permanent solution of an expedited procurement is complete.”  Daines secured the following provisions in the Defense Appropriations Bill:  Upgrading UH-1Ns: $75 million in the bill for the Air

Daines Leads Bipartisan Group of Senators in Introducing Measure to Strengthen Cybersecurity

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today lead a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that directs the president to elevate U.S. Cyber Command to a Combatant Command. U.S. Cyber Command it is currently a subordinate unit to U.S. Strategic Command. Congress established U.S. Special Operations Command to address a rapidly growing need, strengthen the warfighter and to unify forces. Today, with cyber threats being one of the fastest growing national security threats we face, the need for another Combatant Command is clear. Daines’ amendment will elevate the command so it

Daines Slams Obama Administration on Long-Delayed Admission of Iranian Cyberattack on New York Dam

U.S. SENATE — Senator Steve Daines today slammed the Obama administration after reports indicate that they will name Iran as the perpetrator of a 2013 cyberattack on a New York dam. “It is downright shameful that it has taken President Obama three years to denounce Iran for a malicious cybersecurity attack on our country while at the same time sitting at a negotiating table with them,” Daines stated. “This failure is undoubtedly linked to President Obama’s clouded judgment in ushering through his misguided deal with Iran, which has only endangered our national security.  “Just this week Iran tested two ballistic missiles inscribed with ‘Israel must be

Daines Statement on Inexcusable IRS Security Breach

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines slammed President Obama’s failure to expeditiously inform Congress after yet another security breach occurred at the Internal Revenue Service in January.  “The President has a duty to inform Congress of cyber attacks on federal infrastructure, yet once again has tried to sweep this under the rug,” Daines stated. “It’s no coincidence that on President Obama’s watch, two federal agencies within the past year have suffered large-scale and inexcusable breaches in security. He has failed to demonstrate needed leadership and has neglected to take tangible steps to address these persistent cyberinfrastructure challenges – a failure that has permeated into

Daines: CISA Fails to Protect Americans’ Personal Privacy

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today expressed his disappointment after the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) passed the United States Senate and reaffirmed his concerns that the legislation failed to sufficiently protect Americans’ privacy and civil liberties: “I have serious concerns that this legislation fails to fully protect Montanans’ right to privacy from government overreach. As someone who spent nearly 13 years in the technology sector, I know firsthand the cybersecurity risks facing Montanans and agree that we must adopt real reforms that better protect Americans from these threats. But these reforms must not come at the expense of Montanans’

Daines: We need to be Proactive in Preventing Future Cyber Attacks

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines took to the Senate floor to underscore the gaping holes in the cybersecurity of the United States, while also reflecting on his first biannual Montana High Tech Jobs Summit, which took place in Bozeman earlier this week. Click here to watch Daines’ remarks. Click here to download Daines’ remarks.  Daines made the following remarks on the Senate floor: “Mr. President, this generation is at the forefront of technological advances. In fact it’s making the United States and this generation that lives here one of the best networked in history – not only here, but around the world. “The need

Daines Statement on Reported Russian Cyber Attack

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today released the following statement in response to reports that Russia hacked the Pentagon’s unclassified email system: “Reports that Russian hackers—possibly sanctioned by the Russian government—hacked into the Joint Chiefs of Staff email servers nearly two weeks ago are deeply concerning.  This is the third known major cyber attack on the federal government unearthed this summer, and we still have yet to see a full report on the depth of the hack at the Office of Personnel Management. It’s unacceptable that the Obama administration has not yet addressed these serious holes in our nation’s

Daines: Privacy and Security Both Matter in Cyber Reforms

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today underscored the importance of enhancing America’s cybersecurity infrastructure while striking the right balance between protecting Americans from borderless cyber criminals and protecting Americans’ privacy. Daines made the following remarks on the Senate floor this morning: “As I like to say, there are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked and those who know they have been hacked. “This was recently seen at J.P Morgan Chase. “Last summer, the company suffered a cyber attack that involved the theft of contact information for about 76 million households. “In the aftermath, J.P. Morgan