Warner and Rubio ask the Biden administration to designate a leader in response to the SolarWinds hack

“The federal government’s response so far has not been guaranteed leadership and coordination by a significant cyber event,” wrote Senate Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, D-Va., And vice president, senator Marco Rubio, R- Florida, in a letter to the intelligence administration and police leadership.
Since taking office, President Joe Biden’s administration has faced increasing pressure to respond to the data breach, which has raised concerns about the security of corporate secrets, government e-mails and other confidential data. The Trump administration formally pointed the finger at Russia last month after revelations surfaced in December that hackers had put malicious code into a tool published by SolarWinds, a software provider used by countless government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. .

Warner and Rubio wrote that they have little confidence that the United States is on the “shortest path to recovery”. Senators also complained that the reports they received transmitted a “disjointed and disorganized” response to address the violation.

“The threat that our country still faces with this incident needs clear leadership to develop and guide a unified recovery strategy, in particular a leader who has the authority to coordinate the response, set priorities and direct resources where they are needed,” he said. the letter says.

CNN contacted the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Infrastructure Security and Cybersecurity Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence – the four agencies that received the letter.

A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told CNN that the agency received the letter and will respond accordingly.

A National Security Agency official said the agency “does not comment on Congressional correspondence” and an FBI spokesman said “the FBI can confirm receipt of the letter. In addition, we have no further comment.”

The Biden government has been praised by experts for elevating cyber officers to senior positions on the White House National Security Council, but almost three weeks since the inauguration, there has still been no announcement about the national cyber director or the director of the Infrastructure Security Agency. and Cybersecurity, both positions that could serve as leaders for a coordinated response.
The Cyber ​​Security and Infrastructure Agency has been run by incumbent Brandon Wales since then President Donald Trump sacked Chris Krebs, one of the previous administration’s most prominent cybercriminals. Rob Silvers, a partner at the law firm Paul Hastings, is expected to be hired to lead the agency in the Biden government, CNN previously reported. He served as an assistant secretary for cyber policy in the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration, as well as in other key functions in the department.

Meanwhile, the top cyber officials at the Biden National Security Council are already in place – Anne Neuberger and Michael Sulmeyer, both from the National Security Agency.

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