WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, applauded a forthcoming announcement from the Obama Administration today that it intends to create a Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center to strengthen the federal government’s ability to combat cyber-attacks.

“The United States is long overdue in establishing a central command center to analyze and coordinate efforts to combat cyber-attacks,” Senator King said. “We live in a world where criminals and foreign adversaries with the right know-how can inflict severe damage through the simple click of a mouse. In the wake of devastating cyber-incidents at companies like JPMorgan, Sony, and Anthem, it couldn’t be more obvious that the U.S. needs to better marshal and coordinate its resources to fight this growing threat. I look forward to closely reviewing the details and resources requested for this new initiative. While this center is a good start, it’s time Congress acts. I again call on my colleagues to take up and pass robust cyber-security legislation. This has got to be one of our top priorities. Without proper protections in place, we are putting our personal information, critical infrastructure, and financial networks at tremendous risk.”

In remarks delivered on the Senate floor last month, Senator King further warned about the danger of cyber-attacks and called on Congress to immediately pass meaningful cyber-security legislation. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he supported the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which passed the Committee with bipartisan support last July, but did not receive a vote on the Senate floor.

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