WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, today stressed the urgency of cyberpreparedness with Frank Kendall, nominee to be Secretary of the Air Force. During his questioning of Mr. Kendall, Senator King emphasized the danger of a future cyberattack, and highlighted the importance of cybersecurity in the nation’s nuclear arsenal – a key focus of Senator King’s Chairmanship of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, with jurisdiction over America’s nuclear weapons. In response to Senator King’s questioning, Mr. Kendall lauded Senator King’s leadership on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and committed to seriously examining the Department of the Air Force’s cyber defenses.

SENATOR KING: “They often say September 11 was a failure of imagination on the part of this country, that we didn’t imagine what could happen. We’re now imagining cyber in a serious way. Discussing, for example, the upgrade of the modernization of triad for example is really, in my view, a nuclear quad – submarines, air, and missiles, and communications, and command and control. Give me your brief views on the significance of cyber. I believe the next attack on this country will not be any craft or missile, it will be cyber and we are not adequately prepared.”

KENDALL: “Senator King, first of all, I want to compliment you on your work on the [Cyberspace Solarium Commission], I think it was a very good body of work and very helpful…you’re right, cyber is a ubiquitous problem. It is a potential Achilles heel, in any number of places in our overall economic, social, military enterprise, including potentially the nuclear command and control area and it is an area that as we look at for modernization, we need to look at very, very seriously. At the time I left government, I thought we had a reasonable posture there, but I think it is well-worth taking a look at and continuous diligence in that area is what is actually required because the threats never stop, they keep coming at you.”

SENATOR KING: “Not only do the threats never stop, the wake-up calls never stop and we’re not thoroughly awake enough so I hope you will make this a high priority in your work in the Air Force, because a jet fighter is not useful if its command and control and navigational system is knocked down in the first moment of conflict.”

KENDALL: “I completely agree Senator. Or its logistics and support system.”

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In addition to Mr. Kendall, today’s hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee featured testimony from Susanna Blume, nominee to be Director Of Cost Assessment And Program Evaluation Department Of Defense; and Heidi Shyu, nominee to be Under Secretary Of Defense For Research And Engineering.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, Senator King is recognized as one of Congress’s leading experts on cyberdefense and a strong advocate for a forward-thinking cyberstrategy that emphasizes layered cyberdeterrence. He voted in favor of the Senate’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, which includes 25 bipartisan cybersecurity recommendations from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. The legislation became law earlier this year after Senator King and the overwhelming majority of his colleagues voted to override President Trump’s veto.

The CSC was established by statute in the 2019 NDAA, officially launched in April 2019, and will continue to execute its statutory mission through December 2021. 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 strengthen America’s posture in cyberspace and identify opportunities to improve our national preparedness to defend ourselves against cyberattacks.