Head of NSA to brief senators on cyber threats

Senators on the Armed Services Committee will be briefed by a top intelligence official on cyber threats Tuesday morning.

The hearing, which will be closed to the public, will feature testimony from Adm. Michael Rogers, who holds the dual-leadership role at U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency (NSA). 

The closed-door briefing will give lawmakers an opportunity to press Rogers on the intelligence community’s recent findings about Russia’s cyber attacks aimed at the U.S. presidential election.

{mosads}Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who chairs the committee, has set up a new subcommittee on cybersecurity to oversee the Defense Department’s cyber capabilities, following revelations about the Russian government’s hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta. The subcommittee is chaired by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). 

The committee last received testimony from Rogers and other intelligence officials on foreign cyber threats to the United States in January, ahead of the intelligence community’s release of a report on Russia’s meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

The CIA, FBI and NSA concluded in the investigation that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a cyber and disinformation campaign to undermine the U.S. democratic process, harm Hillary Clinton’s electability and aid now-President Donald Trump. 

The Pentagon and other government agencies have been challenged to secure computer systems and infrastructure as cyber threats from nation states and other hostile actors have increased.

Trump was poised to sign an executive action overhauling cybersecurity across the government last week, though it was ultimately postponed.