[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 83 (Monday, May 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Worldwide Cyber Attack

  Lastly, Mr. President, I want to make a note about the worldwide 
cyber attack. So far, according to the New York Times, the attack has 
afflicted at least 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries. It is 
a sobering reminder that cyber attacks are one of the century's 
greatest challenges. They continue to get larger in scale, broader in 
scope, and more malicious in intent. It is time we stopped talking 
about the threat of cyber attacks and actually started doing something 
about it.
  A few years ago, the Senate tried to pass a bill to protect our 
critical infrastructure from cyber attacks, but some of our friends on 
the other side of the aisle blocked it to defend a business community 
that didn't want to share information necessary to fight these 
challenges. I hope this global cyber attack serves as a wakeup call and 
renews bipartisan interest in protecting the United States, the country 
we love, and in protecting our hospitals, our universities, our 
businesses, our intellectual property, our credit files, election 
systems, and critical infrastructures from cyber attacks.
  I yield the floor for my friend from Iowa.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa.