Nashville Standard

Today, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green issued a statement ahead of the Cyber Safety Review Board's (CSRB) first meeting. The meeting aims to assess intrusions into telecommunication networks by a threat actor affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, identified by Microsoft as "Salt Typhoon." According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), this intrusion is ongoing and has affected at least eight U.S. companies.

Chairman Green highlighted the significance of the CSRB's task: "As the CSRB begins laying the groundwork for its fourth report today, the Board’s members have an immense task ahead of them. There is no doubt that a nation-state sponsored intrusion of this scale and sophistication into internet service providers is unprecedented and unnerving—something hard to say after the discovery of Volt Typhoon, another PRC state-sponsored threat actor."

He expressed concern over the extent of access gained by this CCP-affiliated group: "There is bipartisan concern––and frustration––in Congress about the shocking extent of the CCP-affiliated threat actor’s ongoing access to sensitive data."

Green emphasized transparency and cooperation from affected companies: "While it is essential to protect sensitive information from our adversaries amid an ongoing law enforcement investigation and a widespread mitigation effort, Americans deserve to know if the phone in their pocket is being used as a weapon in the CCP’s information war. I urge affected companies to cooperate in this investigation so we have a comprehensive and thorough understanding of this intrusion."

He also called for timely information sharing: "I also urge CSRB members and CISA to prioritize timely information sharing with Congress, industry, and the American people to help ensure no intrusion of this scope ever happens again—and to assist Americans who may have been impacted in securing their personal data."

Looking forward, Green anticipates examining findings from CSRB's forthcoming report: "Once the Board releases its report, I look forward to holding a hearing to examine its findings, as we did with the Board’s Summer 2023 Microsoft Exchange Online incident report."

Finally, he stressed advancing cybersecurity legislation: "Most importantly, I look forward to advancing in the House and Senate vital Committee legislation to address broader cyber threats facing our critical infrastructure... We face an urgent threat from our adversaries against technology that underpins our daily lives, and we must be prepared to take decisive action."