On Thursday, February 16, 2012, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) will be holding a hearing entitled “Securing America’s Future: The Cybersecurity Act of 2012.” Over the past year, several other committees proposed related legislation which caused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to direct all committees of jurisdiction to come together and produce a single bill. That bill will be introduced this week. The HSGAC hearing begins at 2:30 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, February 16, 2012. An audio/video of the hearing can be accessed on the HSGAC’s Web site at: http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/securing-americas-future-the-cybersecurity-act-of-2012
The upcoming HSGAC hearing comes on the heels of recent testimony concerning the world-wide threats, including cyber-related threats, facing the United States. On January 31, 2012, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held an open hearing concerning “Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States.” The Director of National Intelligence, James R. Clapper, testified at the hearing and provided an unclassified statement on the Intelligence Community’s assessment of threats to U.S. national security, which can be accessed on the Committee’s Web site at:
http://intelligence.senate.gov/hearings.cfm?hearingid=f14e6e2889a80b6b53be6d4e412f6eac&witnessId=f14e6e2889a80b6b53be6d4e412f6eac-0-1
Director Clapper’s testimony is worth the read. He focuses on, among many other topics, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (focusing on Iran and North Korea), cyber threats (focusing on increasing computer network operations), and threats to the energy and water sectors. An archived video/audio of the hearing can be accessed on the U.S. Senate’s Web site at the following address: http://www.senate.gov/fplayers/jw57/commMP4Player.cfm?fn=intel013112&st=xxx
Source: Connecticut InfraGard Chapter
