Shaheen Joins Bipartisan Letter to Homeland Security Secretary Requesting Information on Efforts to Protect the United States from Russian Cyber Threats
**After the United States Announced Trade and Energy Penalties on Russia and Approved $14 Billion in Aid for Ukraine, Bipartisan Group of 22 Senators Request Information on Efforts to Protect Critical Infrastructure and Businesses from Retaliatory Russian Cyberattacks**
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, joined a bipartisan letter led by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) to the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security requesting information on efforts to protect the United States from Russian cyber and disinformation threats. The letter references past Russian cyber operations – such as the SolarWinds attack – as evidence of their history of engaging in malicious cyber activities that target the United States.
“The Russian government often engages in malicious cyber activities, including espionage, intellectual property theft, disinformation, propaganda, and cyberattacks, that target the United States. In response, the United States government has imposed sanctions on Russian security personnel and agents for various cyberattacks, including the SolarWinds cyber espionage campaign, and for acts of disinformation and interference, including Russian government-directed attempts to influence U.S. elections,” wrote the Senators.
“Given Russia’s history of disruptive cyber and disinformation activities, we are concerned that the United States may be targeted in retaliation for actions taken to impose costs on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine,” the Senators’ letter continued. “As we stand with the Ukrainian people, impose crushing sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s regime, and push for additional security assistance to help Ukraine defend itself, we also must work to secure the homeland from retaliatory cyber activities.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Senator Shaheen has long led efforts in the Senate to hold Russia accountable for its malign activity against the U.S. and its allies. Because of her role as a negotiator on Russia sanctions legislation known as “CAATSA” and her successful efforts to ban Kaspersky Lab software from operating on U.S. systems, Shaheen was sanctioned by the Kremlin in 2017. Senator Shaheen has been warning of the Kremlin’s continued interference and she herself has been the target of a hacking attempt.
Shaheen has led action in the U.S. Senate in support of Ukraine in response to Vladimir Putin’s belligerence against Ukraine, which also threatens the stability and security of Eastern Europe and NATO allies. Last month, Shaheen led a successful bipartisan effort with Portman to pass a resolution that conveys a renewed and overwhelmingly bipartisan message from the U.S. Senate in fierce support of Ukraine. In January, Shaheen and Portman led a bipartisan delegation to Ukraine, where they met with President Zelenskyy and members of his administration. Shaheen also led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, last June.
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