Cardin Touts Amendment to Shift Cyber Command Classification

More confidence in the process of information sharing between the public and private sectors would help in addressing cybersecurity challenges, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., told county officials in Ocean City, Maryland, Thursday. “Every day we are being attacked,” Cardin said. “We are being attacked by criminals who are stealing. … They’re stealing money, they’re stealing industry designs, they’re stealing intellectual property.” He referred to “actively engaged” cybersecurity soldiers, citing threats from Russia, China and additional unnamed countries, and “cyberterrorists” striving to attack the U.S. financial, energy and transportation systems. He touted an amendment he backs -- and detailed in a May news release -- “to make the Cyber Command a full military command comparable to our regional command structures within DOD,” and touted Maryland’s leadership on cybersecurity. “Maryland is the cybersecurity center, we think, of the universe,” Cardin said, referring to Fort Meade and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, both in the state. There are “increased resources being made available to deal with the threat of cyber,” he said. He cited what he called the leadership of retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., on this and other issues and said he met with her on “hand-off” issues to allow the Maryland delegation to “carry on” without any loss in pursuing its priorities. National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase cited a Thursday morning meeting with House committee staffers on cybersecurity in the context of the U.S. elections. There’s an “incredibly lengthy” list of priorities left between now and end of this Congress, Chase said. Cardin said Congress will have three weeks in session in September before the elections. Federal funding will expire Sept. 30 absent congressional action. “We need to get a budget number in September that gives you the predictability that your federal partner will be there to help you,” Cardin said.