The Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) has made a “real impact” on the nation’s cybersecurity posture, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said today, and its work is not over yet.
The CSC has served as an influential incubation chamber for a big chunk of cybersecurity policies that have become Federal law and policy, including the creation of National Cyber Director Chris Inglis’s position.
“We’ve had a real impact, and that’s why I feel it’s been so important,” Sen. King said of the commission today at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit. “Because, a) the issue is important, b) it’s a national security issue, and c) we have seen what we’ve done.”
“Chris Inglis’s position [as] national cyber director was I think, desperately needed, and it came out in the commission and we had to do a lot of work – believe me, it wasn’t easy – moving that provision through the Congress, but I feel like we’ve made a difference,” he added. “I feel like the country is stronger now in terms of cyber than it was before.”
Sen. King noted that about 60 percent of the commission’s recommendations have been enacted into law, which is an impressive amount of success for a commission.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be looking at another one of the CSC’s recommendations next week, through the Cyber Diplomacy Act. The legislation looks to codify the State Department’s new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, which was the result of a commission recommendation.
“I think that’s one of the biggest of our recommendations that is open,” Sen. King said of the legislation. “Don’t ever bet on the Congress, but I’m hoping we have a real shot of getting enacted. The administration has set the bureau up and we want to establish it in law so it has an ongoing presence.”
The congressionally-chartered CSC now has a non-profit successor, called CSC 2.0, that hopes to continue to dig into cybersecurity issues and make meaningful recommendations.
CSC 2.0 has already released a couple of reports, including one that calls on the Office of the National Cyber Director and Congress to bolster the nation’s cybersecurity workforce.
