The White House policy on cyber deterrence submitted to Congress in December is “wholly lacking any new information,” the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee said on Tuesday.
“The administration has not demonstrated to our adversaries that the consequences of continued cyberattacks against us outweigh the benefit,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. “Until this happens, the attacks will continue, and our national security interests will suffer.”
McCain said he had hoped to see more offensive capabilities outlined, adding that the administration’s plan “goes to great pains to minimize the role of offensive cyber capabilities and does little to clarify the policy ambiguities that undermine the credibility of deterrence.”
The complaint is the second from an Arizona Republican this week. On Monday, Rep. Matt Salmon criticized an agreement reached between Beijing and the White House that stated neither country would support the theft of commercial secrets.
“China’s extensively layered cyber administration and military and operational cyber infrastructure grants Beijing an easy way out of being held accountable for its actions,” Salmon said. “It places a greater onus on the United States to prove direct government culpability, though we should not let that deter us from continuing to report China’s cyberattacks against U.S. assets and organizations.”
Salmon added that the September agreement went “to great pains to minimize the role of offensive cyber capabilities” and did “little to clarify … policy ambiguities that undermine the credibility of deterrence.”
As Chinese hacking increased last year, members of Congress became frustrated with the administration’s refusal to engage in an offensive response. Security officials were forced to defend the administration’s position, which has included a refusal to attribute responsibility for attacks to the Chinese.
“Please don’t deceive this committee as though we don’t know who’s responsible,” McCain told defense and intelligence officials during a hearing in September. “That’s just very disingenuous. There have been very public reports that we have identified the [Chinese People’s Liberation Army] building where these attacks come from.”
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Members of Congress became less vocal in their disdain for the administration’s strategy following the September agreement. However, the renewal of criticism this week hints strongly that it is about to return.
