Trump, senators headed for clash on cyber policy
Senators are barreling toward a clash with the Trump administration over how to deter and respond to cyberattacks.
The Senate is taking up annual defense policy legislation this week that would set a national policy for cybersecurity and cyber warfare, an effort the Trump administration has fought in the past, arguing it would infringe on the president’s authorities.
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s decision to include the provision in its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) reflects frustration that has built up over the years as a result of what lawmakers see as a lack of urgency in the executive branch to set a comprehensive cyber strategy.
“If we don’t develop a cyber policy and a doctrine, these attacks are just simply going to continue and at one point, one of them is going to be catastrophic and people are going to say, ‘why didn’t you do anything?’ ” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Armed Services Committee, told The Hill.
Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been at the forefront in pressing officials in the Obama and Trump administrations to lay out a comprehensive cyber strategy that would provide a road map for responding to cyberattacks and deter would-be attackers by spelling out clear consequences.
The defense bill that Trump signed last year required his administration to develop a national policy for cyberspace and cyber warfare. In April, the president submitted that report to Congress, but in classified form, meaning its details are sealed from the public.
Senators were left unsatisfied.
“I didn’t think it was clear and unequivocal enough,” King said. “It’s got to be a doctrine that our adversaries understand if it’s going to act as a deterrent.”
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/391734-trump-senators-headed-for-clash-on-cyber-policy
But then what are Drumpf's Ruskie buddies gonna do.