Defense Secretary Nominee Says Hack Perpetrators ‘Should be Held Accountable’

Defense Secretary Nominee Says Hack Perpetrators ‘Should be Held Accountable’

President-elect Joseph Biden’s nominee for defense secretary told senators in a Tuesday confirmation hearing the perpetrators of the SolarWinds hack that affected several federal agencies should face consequences. 


Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked retired four-star Gen. Lloyd Austin, who is seeking confirmation for the top job at the Defense Department, to commit to “conducting a top-down review of our cyber operations, including DOD’s posture and structure” and to “making our adversaries pay a price” for attacks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. 


“You have my commitment that I will conduct that review,” Austin said. “I think that there is a review ongoing now to really ascertain what transpired. I’ll join that if confirmed in stride and I really look forward to understanding with clarity what really happened.”


“I truly believe that the [Federal Bureau of Investigation] and the [National Security Agency] have given Russia credit for this, they have attributed this activity to Russia, and if that’s the case, I think Russia should be held accountable,” he added. “That’s my personal belief.” 


While a large portion of questions at Austin’s confirmation hearing focused on civil-military relations—Austin has not been out of military service for the required seven years and must seek a Congressional waiver to serve as defense secretary—Austin did touch on technology. 


Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., also asked Austin about cyber operations. Rounds asked the general for his thoughts on offensive cyber operations, and Austin confirmed he believes offensive cyber capabilities are necessary. 


“I've been away from it for a bit, but I really look forward to kind of getting back getting under the hood and understanding how the processes work now to ..

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