Energy Secretary Rick Perry told senators Tuesday a new cybersecurity office he plans to create will be sufficient to respond to Russia’s targeting of the U.S. power grid, as Democrats argued that action is not aggressive enough.
“The formation of this office better positions the department to address emerging threats and natural disasters and support the department’s expanded national security responsibilities,” Perry said in testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
“There is a clear role that DOE plays on cyber,” he added. “We are committed to being as technology advanced as possible, and it’s the reason we have structured the department as such to clearly send the message this is important and we are going to fund it as such.”
The Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response, announced in February, would establish the Energy Department as the lead agency in responding to cyberattacks. The White House fiscal 2019 budget proposes $96 million for funding the office.
The Trump administration last week for the first time publicly accused Russia of targeting the U.S. power grid with cyberattacks.
The U.S. government says Russian hackers compromised energy operators in North America and Europe by copying information of machinery and descriptions of how they operate, which could be used to shut down power plants.
After the government issued its alert, Perry warned members of a House Appropriations subcommittee he’s “not confident” the government has an appropriate strategy to combat “hundreds of thousands” of cybersecurity attacks directed at the U.S. every day.
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy committee, seized on that comment Tuesday as evidence Perry needs to do more.
She wants the federal government to undertake an assessment of the threat that Russia’s cyberactivities have on the U.S. power grid.
“Our energy infrastructure is under attack, it’s under cyberattack and we need to do much more to protect it as national critical asset,” Cantwell said. “Establishing a new cyber office with marginal [funding] increases is not a substitute for meaningful action we need.”
Perry responded to Cantwell’s concerns by ensuring “we are spending dollars in other areas of the budget that will have a concrete effect on cyber.”
“It’s not just that line item in standing up the cyber office,” Perry said.
He also said the Energy Department is currently doing a cyber assessment, although he didn’t say if it applies specifically to Russia.
“I think that’s going on as we speak,” Perry said. “We have three different areas within DOE focused on cyber, and have been meeting and having these conversations before.”
