Daines: More Must Be Done To Protect Privacy, Ensure Cybersecurity

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., pushed Monday for increased cybersecurity protections for all sectors of the economy. Speaking on the Senate floor, Daines backed passage of the student privacy bill he and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, R-Conn., introduced last week, The Safeguarding American Family from Exposure by Keeping Information in Data Secure (Safe Kids) Act (see 1507160024), before turning his attention to the Fiat Chrysler recall (see 1507280003). “Through the radio of a Jeep Cherokee, hackers disabled the vehicle’s transmission as a driver drove on a public highway in St. Louis,” Daines said. “This episode is telling [us] that cyberhacks can affect every sector of our economy, from the financial sector to our automotive manufacturers,” he said. Military installations are vulnerable to a cyberattack, Daines said, citing a new report from the Government Accountability Office, as are utility systems that provide water, electricity and other essential services. On Sunday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on ABC’s This Week that a cyberattack by the Islamic State is one of the terrorist group’s biggest emerging threats to our country. “In the interview, Lynch noted that the terrorist group now boasts more than 20,000 English-language Twitter followers,” Daines said. “Our country’s most sensitive data can be in the hands of our enemies at the mere click of a button or press of a screen,” he said. He criticized the Obama administration for what he sees as its lack of transparency after the Office of Personnel Management breaches and urged OPM Chief Information Officer Donna Seymour’s resignation, and encouraged his colleagues to “act more quickly and more nimbly than those seeking to wage a terrorist attack on our nation's cybersecurity infrastructure.”