Rosen Is A Former Computer Programmer And A Leader on Cybersecurity Issues
Watch/Download Video of Senator Rosen’s Remarks HERE
WASHINGTON, DC – Today during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) asked about Russian cybersecurity threats in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Senator Rosen specifically asked about steps the United States can take to help foil Russia’s efforts to destabilize Ukraine through cyberattacks. The hearing witnesses were Heather Conley, President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and Roger Zakheim, Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
BELOW IS A TRANSCRIPT OF SENATOR ROSEN’S QUESTION ABOUT RUSSIAN CYBER ATTACKS:
ROSEN: I want to talk about cyberattacks because those look for the cracks that you can’t even see. And so it’s really important that we know that Vladimir Putin, they have been launching malicious cyber attacks against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, the government networks and banking. They’ve been utilizing false or disinformation to paint Ukraine as a Nazi regime, and so what more do you think the U.S. can do to help foil Russia’s efforts to destabilize Ukraine through both cyberattacks and disinformation? Those campaigns using the, like I said, cyber and the media for him inside Russia and whatever he does outside. What can we do to strengthen that?
ZAKHEIM: Thank you Senator. We need to have clear policy of the United States in terms of taking cyber operations, not only allowing for defensive operations but for offensive operations and certainly to respond, in kind, the Doctrine of Proportionality as it applies to cyber is a complicated thing, but it’s clear to me that there needs to be a response. And sometimes, if you see an action coming, you take out that capability. My understanding is that the Ukrainians have been more sophisticated than those, than some would have assumed and have thwarted some of Russia’s attempts to engage or use cyber operations, but NATO as a whole needs to be committed not to have policies allow to carry out a capability that a lot of these countries have and certainly that’s true for the United States.
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