Scott Powers
After a classified intelligence briefing for a newly-formed U.S. Senate panel on cyberterrorism, Florida’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson issued a strong warning Wednesday.
Nelson, the Ranking Democrat, acknowledging a “very serious” cyberattack by Russia on American elections and warning that American infrastructure is vulnerable.
The classified briefing before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Cyberterrorism Subcommittee, chaired by Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, took place Wednesday afternoon. Nelson issued the following statement:
“We have to accept the fact that right now, countries like Russia and China can inflict serious damage on our critical infrastructure through cyberspace, despite our best efforts to defend ourselves. In order to protect ourselves as we build up our capabilities, we have to deter these countries by making the consequences of an attack so severe that they wouldn’t even consider attacking us in the first place.
“We have already suffered some very serious cyberattacks such as Russia’s recent interference in our elections and China and North Korea’s hacking of U.S. corporations on a near daily basis. Developing methods and plans to threaten what these countries value the most — in order to deter future attacks — is one of our top priorities.”
