Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked the Senate Sergeant at Arms in a March 13 letter to disclose to each member of the Senate “the extent of the cyber threats faced by the U.S. Senate–and by extension, our democracy,” and said disclosure of that information was “imperative in order to help the U.S. Senate address important cyber-security needs.” The senators said that while members of Congress have occasionally reported hacks of their offices, the last such public disclosure was in 2009. They asked the Sergeant at Arms to provide an annual report to each senator on the number of cyber incidents in which Senate computers have been compromised, and in which hackers have otherwise gained access to sensitive Senate data. They also asked for a commitment to notify Senate leadership within five days of discovery of a breach of any Senate computer.
