The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence announced Dec. 8, the formation of a bipartisan task force on cyber security. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) will serve as members of the task force, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) will serve as task force chair. The task force will evaluate cyber threats to the United States and issue recommendations to the U.S. intelligence community as appropriate. The task force will complete its work by June 2010.
“Cyber security is a growing national security threat, and one I take very seriously,” Senator Mikulski said. “As a member of this new Senate Cyber Security Task Force, I will be working with my colleagues to provide guidance on how to better coordinate our defenses against the complex and evolving attacks by hackers and cyber spies that our nation faces each day. Cyber security has been of growing concern to me and my constituents since the devastating cyber attacks against Estonia two years ago. I look forward to continuing to work on this important issue.”