WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), emphasized the importance of deterrence in cyberspace as critical for U.S. national security during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Kathleen Hicks to serve as Deputy Secretary Of Defense. During his remarks, Senator King highlighted the ongoing threats of cyber incursions on America’s networks, and expanded on one key CSC recommendation that is particularly timely given the SolarWinds breach earlier this month – ensuring that the defense industrial base (DIB) is secure. In response to Senator King’s questioning, Dr. Hicks committed to studying the problem and commended Senator King’s leadership on the CSC.

SENATOR KING: “Most of this hearing is about all the money we are spending to defend ourselves against potential attacks. I don’t believe we are adequately defending ourselves against actual attacks, attacks that are taking place this very moment. And so I hope that the issue of cyber – and you use the term ‘deter our advisories’ – the problem of cyber and deterrence is something we really haven’t wrestled with very well. So I hope that’s an area you will pay some special attention to because as I said, we’re spending billions to deter potential attacks and I don’t think enough attention to being paid to deterring and managing actual attacks that are underway this very moment.”

HICKS: “Senator, I will commit to looking into that space and I want to thank you for the work you’ve done as a leader on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. I know the Department already has been directed to adopt many of those recommendations.”

SENATOR KING: “One specific item I would recommend would be to facilitate threat hunting on the defense industrial base. SolarWinds tells us that sometimes the easiest path to secure systems is through subcontractors and supply chains and I think that’s an area that would be very fruitful in terms of defense. Also the policy of deterrence which we can talk about at greater length.” 

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Later in the hearing, Senator King advocated for changes to the DOD procurement process to give smaller firms the opportunity to bring new, innovative ideas to the Department:

SENATOR KING: “Finally, Senator Tillis talked about procurement. We’ve had testimony before this committee that many smaller companies, particularly in Silicon Valley and the technology field generally, have given up on the Pentagon. It’s too complicated, it’s too lengthy, it’s too expensive to even fill out the forms. I commend procurement reform to you in that regard because if we’re not taking advantage of the newest ideas and the newest technologies, we’re going to lose our qualitative edge which you have defined as important. So I hope you will consider the procurement program from the point of view of a 12-person IT firm in Seattle or Portland, ME or Austin, TX and how we can make the procurement system manageable for that kind of operation.”

HICKS: “Senator, I completely agree with you and this ties into several elements of conversation that have come up this morning. The Department has begun to pursue an adaptive acquisition pathways approach. I think that’s generally moving in the right direction. If confirmed, I would want to get in and understand, to your point, how well that’s serving the full range of particularly non-traditional, those alternative pathways, can serve the non-traditional suppliers.” 

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As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator King is recognized as a thoughtful voice on national security and foreign policy issues in the Senate. He voted in favor of the Senate’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, which includes several funding and policy priorities advocated for by Senator King to support military facilities and communities in Maine and advance the national defense. The legislation – containing 25 bipartisan cybersecurity recommendations from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission – became law earlier this year after Senator King and the overwhelming majority of his colleagues voted to override President Trump’s veto. In addition to his committee work, Senator King serves on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the Senate North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Observer Group, and is Co-Chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission.

The CSC was established by statute in the 2019 NDAA, and officially launched in April 2019. The Commissioners convened nearly every Monday that Congress was in session for a year, and its staff conducted more than 400 engagements, drawing upon the expertise of corporate leaders, federal, state and local officials, academics, and cybersecurity experts. The meetings and the ensuing report sought to understand America’s posture in cyberspace and identify opportunities to improve our national preparedness to defend ourselves against cyberattacks. The Fiscal Year 2021 NDAA extended the Commission until December 2021, and Senator King remains a co-chair with Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.).