[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 101 (Thursday, June 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               RANSOMWARE

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on another matter, ransomware, over the 
past few months, there have been a number of high-profile cyber attacks 
against the U.S. Government, American businesses, and critical 
infrastructure. From the cyber winds attack last year to a ransomware 
attack on the city of Baltimore and the Colonial Pipeline, cyber crime 
is a real and growing threat.
  Just last week, the MTA, our vast subway system in New York, was the 
victim of an attack.
  While the Attorney General has announced an intensified effort to 
combat this scourge of ransomware attacks, we in Congress have a 
responsibility to conduct oversight and determine whether our 
government needs an additional authority and resource to take the fight 
to cyber criminals and foreign intelligence services.
  Congress must ensure that Federal Agencies, like the Cybersecurity 
and Infrastructure Security Agency, have the necessary resources to 
take on this growing threat and support State and local governments 
under assault. So earlier this week, I called for Congress to increase 
CISA'S budget by $500 million to fight this growing threat, and today I 
am asking Chairman Peters--Gary Peters of our Homeland Security 
Committee--and the other relevant committee chairs to begin a 
government-wide review of these attacks and determine what legislation 
may be needed to counter the threat of cyber crime and bring the fight 
to the cyber criminals.

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