WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the office of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the May edition of Senator King’s Inside Maine podcast. This month’s podcast features U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who serves with Senator King as a co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), and Professor Henry Felch, Associate Professor of Cybersecurity at the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA). Representative Gallagher joined Senator King to discuss the national security challenges posed by cyber adversaries, and the work the CSC is undertaking to address these threats. Professor Felch then joined Senator King to discuss cybersecurity challenges facing Maine people, and opportunities available to Maine students to pursue a career in the cybersecurity field.

“In the 21st century, we’ll continue to become more interconnected – creating both incredible new opportunities and serious new vulnerabilities,” said Senator King. “But both the federal government and Maine people are severely unprepared to face these new challenges, which can originate from an adversarial nation-state or a few bad actors sitting half a world away. The threats are serious, and our response must be as well – today’s conversation highlights the work being done at the federal level to respond to those who seek to use cyberspace to harm us, as well as ways that Maine people and businesses can act to protect themselves.”

Representative Gallagher and Senator King are co-chairs of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, established by the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to review the threats facing America in cyberspace and provide strategic guidance and policy recommendations on how to defend ourselves against cyber threats. The CSC – which features a total of 14 commissioners from Congress, federal agencies, and relevant civilian professions – seeks to build consensus on a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace against cyber-attacks of significant consequences as the world enters a new phase of cyberconflict. A key piece of this agenda will be an effort to develop a comprehensive cyber policy, with specific policy recommendations to implement and prioritize this approach. This work will culminate with a public report and rollout, including briefings with the congressional committees on defense, intelligence, and homeland security discussing the CSC’s findings and recommendations.

Professor Henry Felch discussed his part in creating the cybersecurity program at the University of Maine at Augusta. Now in its fifth year, the program prepares students for the quickly growing field of Cybersecurity protection and containment. Originally, born in Maine, Henry spent 22 years in the Army, primarily as an Armor crewman on an M1A1 Abrams, before working in cybersecurity. After retiring from the military in 2004, Henry pursued several degrees, ultimately receiving a Ph.D. in Computer Science with a dissertation in Network Security.

During his time in the Senate, Senator King has been a strong advocate for functional and effective cyber policy, and deterring cyber-attacks on American elections. This week, Senator King cosponsored the Election Security Act, which would require voter-verifiable backup paper ballots and provide election security grants to states for cyber improvements and audits. Earlier this week, he highlighted the importance of backup paper ballots and no ability to connect to the internet to members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the commission who provide best practices when certifying voting machines.

In March, Senator King sent a letter to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) requesting information about NERC’s efforts to protect the United States’ bulk power system from supply chain vulnerabilities, particularly those posed by vendors from Russia and China. In a February hearing, Senator King emphasized the need for urgent action, and questioned NERC President and CEO James Robb about the dangers of foreign equipment in America’s energy grid. He has also led the bipartisan effort to protect U.S. energy infrastructure from potential cyberattacks by introducing the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, which would partner with industry to utilize engineering concepts to remove vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to access the grid through holes in digital software.

The “Inside Maine Podcast with Senator Angus King” is a 30-minute program that aims to help keep Maine people informed about issues of the day, how they affect life in the state, and how they factor into Senator King’s work as one of two independents in the U.S. Senate. Senator King’s podcast builds on his existing radio show that airs on Newsradio WGAN in Portland, Maine between 10 and 11 a.m. on almost every last Saturday of the month. The link to the May podcast can be found HERE.