Republicans members of the House American Security Task Force recently hosted a cybersecurity roundtable session with industry leaders.
Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) spearheaded the effort, which focused on the present state of the nation’s cybersecurity and what Congress can do to improve the overall cybersecurity stance.
In addition to Katko and Gonzales, the session was attended by Reps. John Rutherford (R-FL), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Warren Davidson (R-OH).
Among the topics broached during the dialogue, per officials, was combating ransomware, with authorities noting the pace of complex cyberattacks is rapidly increasing while ransomware perpetrators have escalated efforts to attack the nation’s critical infrastructure; identifying and protecting critical infrastructure by designating what is systemically important critical infrastructure (SICI) while decreasing risks to domestic economic and national security; and enhancing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) authority as a means of defeating cyberattacks.
Lawmakers also discussed the manner in which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and other foreign adversaries should be held accountable for their actions, such as prohibiting exports from leaving domestic shores while taking reciprocal action in response to cyber incursions and IP theft.