[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 9, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4001-S4002]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Cybersecurity

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, last week, we learned that global meat 
processing company JBS, one of the four meatpacking companies 
responsible for more than 80 percent of beef processing operations, had 
suffered a ransomeware attack. The attack temporarily shuttered the 
company's U.S. beef plants, threatening the beef supply and leaving 
ranchers wondering once again whether they would be able to sell their 
cattle.
  The JBS attack highlights two important issues. The first is cyber 
security. The rise of ransomeware attacks

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on critical industries and infrastructure represents a serious threat.
  Less than a month before the ransomeware attack on meatpacking, 
ransomeware criminals hacked the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies 
gasoline and jet fuel to the east coast. The Colonial attack caused 
fuel shortages and drove up gas prices, with many consumers facing gas 
station lines that hearkened back to the oil crisis of the 1970s.
  In today's society, where almost everything we do has a cyber 
component, ransomeware and other malicious cyber attacks carry the 
potential to seriously disrupt our way of life.
  Cyber security needs to be one of our top priorities. Private 
companies need to invest in cyber security, to keep their systems and 
customer data secure, and the Federal Government has to invest in it as 
a matter of national security. We can't afford to let hostile 
individuals or hostile governments hack key government databases or 
functions.
  I was proud to be a lead sponsor of the HACKED Act, which became law 
as part of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. This 
legislation focuses on enhancing both public and private cyber security 
development. It bolsters science education and cyber security programs 
at multiple government Agencies, and enhances partnerships between 
universities and employers on cyber security workforce needs.
  We need to continue to make cyber security training a priority. We 
also need to send a clear message to governments that harbor cyber 
attackers. It is obvious that Russia remains a haven for cyber 
criminals. Both the Colonial Pipeline and JBS attacks were the work of 
Russia-linked hackers, and we need to make it clear to Russia and other 
countries that we have no tolerance for the harboring of cyber 
criminals.