In the wake of Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election, the Senate Armed Services Committee announced today that it has formed a new subcommittee to focus on cyber threats facing the United States.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and a former member of the Senate’s Intelligence Committee, will serve as the top Democrat on the new panel. He says that in addition to ensuring the proper policies, strategies and resources are in place to defend the U.S. in cyberspace, the new subcommittee will hold the administration accountable if they fail to adequately respond to a future attack.
“You can’t just sit on your hands and do nothing,” Nelson said. “If we’re going to deter our enemies from attacking us, we have to make it painfully obvious that the consequences are going to be so severe that they won’t want to do it in the first place.”
