WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, stressed the need for clear cybersecurity leadership and accountability within the energy sector as a key way to confront the ongoing threat of cyberattacks on U.S. critical infrastructure. During his exchange with Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, in today’s hearing of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator King raised New England’s vast reliance on natural gas to power electricity throughout the region, and emphasized the need to have “one agency that’s in charge” of oversight over cybersecurity and infrastructure agencies across the federal government.

SENATOR KING: “Pipeline security – I count, we've got PHMSA [Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration] at the Department of Transportation, we've got TSA [Transportation Security Administration] at [the Department of] Homeland Security, we've got FERC [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission], and we've got Department of Energy – all have a piece of pipeline. This is unacceptable. Do you agree with me that we have to rationalize the process of cybersecurity for pipelines so that there's one agency that's in charge, that there are regulations, that it's not voluntary? This is this is a part of our critical infrastructure.”

SECRETARY GRANHOLM: “It would be wise to do so.”

SENATOR KING: “Thank you. That's exactly what I hoped you would respond. I just want to emphasize that right now it's – we're in danger. I mean, the Colonial Pipeline was a wakeup call. We keep not waking up. And pipelines in New England, for example, 60 percent of our electricity comes from natural gas. All of the natural gas comes through pipelines. So as far as I'm concerned, gas pipelines are part of the grid and the grid has a great deal of regulation and testing and cybersecurity. It's very, very weak in terms of the of the pipeline system. So I hope we can work together with CISA [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] and other agencies to figure out where this should reside and to get on it promptly.”

Senator King is a leader in urging the United States to strengthen the security of energy infrastructure, continually raising this critical issue to hold officials accountable in recent Senate hearings. In early May, during the momentary gas shortage due to the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, Senator King pressed energy officials and experts on the steps that they are taking to secure the cyber systems and networks. During this hearing, he referenced past hearings in September 2020 and February 2019 in which he underscored the urgency of protecting America’s gas pipelines; in 2020, he specifically stated, “I’m very concerned with the cybersecurity of the gas pipeline system…I don’t think we are as secure as we think we are.”

In August 2020, Senator King pushed top officials in charge of cybersecurity and energy systems in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), FERC, and private sector companies on the importance of regularly red teaming and penetration testing (pentesting) their own infrastructure to identify cybervulnerabilities and bolster their defenses. In December 2019, his Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, bipartisan legislation also cosponsored by Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), was enacted into law. The legislation passed as part of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and will develop defenses for the U.S. energy grid through partnerships between the National Laboratories and industry. The partnerships will utilize engineering concepts to remove vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to access the grid and the nation’s critical infrastructure. Earlier in 2020, Senator King has joined members of Cyberspace Solarium Commission to detail CSC’s recommendations before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, the House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.