Sen. has opened an investigation into the hack of America’s top domestic cyber agency which exposed a tool the U.S.
government used to maintain information from facilities with chemicals that terrorists could turn into weapons. The Iowa Republican wrote to the on Wednesday, demanding answers about the January breach of its systems that the revealed only last month. “I’ve been conducting oversight of the departments with known cyber vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure, but now we’re learning — the whose sole responsibility is to protect U.
S. cybersecurity — doesn’t even have its own house in order,” Mr. told The Washington Times in a statement.
“ failure to safeguard its systems puts Americans at risk.” is the tasked with cybersecurity and coordinating security for America’s critical infrastructure, which includes such things as transportation, power, water systems, financial services and chemical facilities. officials said in June a hack of the systems exposed the personally identifiable information of personnel at chemical facilities and visitors to those facilities with access to restricted areas and high-risk chemicals.
Hackers targeted a Chemical Security Assessment Tool from January 23 to 26, according to the , which said it subsequently notified participants in the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program about the potentially exposed information. Many details about the cyberattack remain unclear, however, including who was res.