At Tuesday's House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) questioned DHS Sec. Kristi Noem about cyber threats.
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00:00America is under constant and growing threat from cybercriminals and foreign adversaries, as we're still seeing with Salt Typhoon.
00:06Last week, you said we should, quote, just wait for the president's grand cyber plan.
00:12But you have not waited to erode the department's cyber defense capabilities by removing resources and personnel from CISA and other components.
00:20Meanwhile, bad actors are burrowing further into the critical infrastructure of this country.
00:24On what date can we expect to receive the president's cyber plan, and why are you moving forward now with workforce reductions and other changes to relevant DHS components without it?
00:35CISA's mission is to hunt and harden and to work with our state and local entities on critical infrastructure.
00:42So to support cybersecurity infiltrations that would happen from enemies and bad actors when it comes to electrical grids, water systems, support those states, those small and medium-sized businesses that can't afford that kind of defense system themselves, and to go and walk alongside of them.
00:59I think one of the most alarming things that I heard when I was first nominated for this position, but before I was sworn in, I got briefings from CISA and from the leadership team and the people that were there.
01:09And one of the things that they shared with me was that they were aware of SALT Typhoon and VOLT Typhoon, but they didn't know necessarily how they had happened yet or how to stop them into the future.
01:19That was alarming to me.
01:21It was alarming to me that we had the nation's top-leading cybersecurity agency that didn't know how to stop the PRC and our enemies from coming in and hacking into our systems.
01:31And if we think a pandemic was scary, wait until the PRC in China comes in and shuts down our electricity and our water.
01:37And our water, so that is what CISA is focusing on, is making sure that we're approaching cybersecurity and the importance that it is.
01:45I had a direct question.
01:46Yes.
01:47Do you know when the President's Cyber Plan will be released?
01:49It will be coming out shortly, and that is the President's prerogative.
01:52I have been advising him on what that will look like.
01:54Despite the growing cyber threats, your budget cuts nearly half a billion dollars, half a billion dollars from the main agency charged with protecting our federal networks and so much more.
02:03So if you are so outraged by the threat of the PRC and our federal networks, why are you cutting half a billion dollars?
02:12When you recently spoke at the RSA conference, you said that we needed to put CISA, quote, back on mission.
02:17But let's be clear.
02:18That mission is designated for you.
02:20We in the Congress told you in the department and CISA how to execute on that mission.
02:29And you all have been moving money away from CISA, and that does not help achieve that mission.