Warner Contemplates Mandatory Cyberattack Reporting Bill

June 16, 2021 by Kate Michael
Warner Contemplates Mandatory Cyberattack Reporting Bill
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) speaking at The Open Markets Institute's conference in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 2018. (Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA/TNS)

WASHINGTON — The rise in profit-driven cyberattacks has prompted Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., to contemplate a mandatory reporting bill so law enforcement can promptly take action on urgent threats.

Warner told Axios recently that he anticipates broad support for such upcoming legislation in light of recent events and since “our cyber vulnerabilities are now being felt by everyday Americans.”

“The Biden administration has moved aggressively, but they can only do a certain amount of things. Congress needs to act,” he said. 

The government has long been concerned about cyberattacks, like those on the Colonial Pipeline, Solar Winds, and on meat supplier JBS. But Warner suggests that now may be the time to take action since the pervasiveness of ransomware — and strikes increasing in number and scope — is starting to impact things consumers can feel.

“As these ransomware attacks’ ramp-up in volume and seriousness, it’s hitting home finally,” he said. And while people may have read about information being stolen in the past, when it impacts them directly, like with higher prices and supply chain delays, “it gets more personal.”

Warner has proposed to put forward a bill to require mandatory reporting of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure companies, federal contractors, and government agencies. 

“When we had this debate six or seven years ago, the business community did not want any additional mandatory reporting,” Warner said. “I think they now realize that they themselves are put in jeopardy if we don’t have mandatory reporting.” 

The bill could include limited immunity for businesses and methods to keep information confidential between the government and its private sector partners. 

Warner believes that mandatory reporting, both of cyber attacks and ransomware payments, could help law enforcement to take faster and better action when vulnerabilities are leveraged. 

“We’ve got to know mid-attack,” he said. “And we’ve got to set a level of international norms. This is not just a tax against American companies, the whole Irish healthcare system was shut down recently [by an attack]. 

“We need to make clear that if entities in [Russia and China] are attacking our critical  infrastructure they will pay the penalty.”

Warner said he fears that cyber threats are transitioning from simply stealing information to potentially “extraordinary destructive actions.” If instead of merely exfiltrating information, cybercriminals move to shut down systems and cripple economies, “that, to me, would be close to an act of war,” Warner said, “and we need to up our game.”

According to Warner, it won’t solve the whole problem, but “we will have a strong bipartisan incident report legislation out within the next couple of weeks.” 

A+
a-
  • Congress
  • cybersecurity
  • Sen. Mark Warner
  • Senate Select COmmittee on Intelligence
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Cybersecurity

    Americans Reporting Nationwide Cellular Outages From AT&T, Cricket Wireless and Others

    A number of Americans are dealing with cellular outages on AT&T, Cricket Wireless, Verizon, T-Mobile and other service providers, according... Read More

    A number of Americans are dealing with cellular outages on AT&T, Cricket Wireless, Verizon, T-Mobile and other service providers, according to data from Downdetector. AT&T had more than 73,000 outages around 9:30 a.m. ET, in locations including Houston, Atlanta and Chicago. The outages began at approximately... Read More

    States and Congress Wrestle With Cybersecurity at Water Utilities Amid Renewed Federal Warnings

    HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The tiny Aliquippa water authority in western Pennsylvania was perhaps the least-suspecting victim of an international... Read More

    HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The tiny Aliquippa water authority in western Pennsylvania was perhaps the least-suspecting victim of an international cyberattack. It had never had outside help in protecting its systems from a cyberattack, either at its existing plant that dates to the 1930s or the... Read More

    December 6, 2023
    by Dan McCue
    HHS Unveils Next Steps to Enhance Cybersecurity of Health Care Records

    WASHINGTON — The bad guys in cyberspace want your health care records.  Between 2018 and 2022, there was a 93%... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The bad guys in cyberspace want your health care records.  Between 2018 and 2022, there was a 93% increase in large breaches in the health care sector, with a 278% increase in large breaches involving ransomware, according to the Department of Health and Human... Read More

    Insider Q&A: Pentagon AI Chief on Network-Centric Warfare, Generative AI Challenges

    The Pentagon's chief digital and artificial intelligence offer, Craig Martell, is alarmed by the potential for generative artificial intelligence systems... Read More

    The Pentagon's chief digital and artificial intelligence offer, Craig Martell, is alarmed by the potential for generative artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT to deceive and sow disinformation. His talk on the technology at the DefCon hacker convention in August was a huge hit. But he's anything... Read More

    October 31, 2023
    by Tom Ramstack
    US Workforce Unprepared for AI, Technology Experts Tell Senate

    WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s executive order Monday setting regulatory standards for artificial intelligence prompted witnesses at a Senate hearing... Read More

    WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s executive order Monday setting regulatory standards for artificial intelligence prompted witnesses at a Senate hearing Tuesday to say it is only a first step in a process likely to transform American workplaces. “Artificial intelligence will not only disrupt lives, it will... Read More

    July 18, 2023
    by Tom Ramstack
    Congress Told AI Holds Great Risks and Benefits for US Military

    WASHINGTON — Artificial intelligence experts warned Tuesday during a congressional hearing of ominous dangers for the United States if it... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Artificial intelligence experts warned Tuesday during a congressional hearing of ominous dangers for the United States if it falls behind in developing the technology but a bright future by taking the lead. One of the greatest risks would be defending against a foreign enemy... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top