Another question is what arm of the U.S. government would take the lead in any attack on ransomware enterprises — a debate that could allow for a hodgepodge of responses from various agencies, none with enough might to deter cybercriminals.
A similar policy debate has raged for months among lawmakers about how the U.S. should respond to last year’s massive SolarWinds intrusion, an espionage effort in which hackers for a Russian intelligence agency rented U.S.-based servers to breach at least nine federal agencies and roughly 100 private companies.
One option is for Cyber Command to lead any reprisals. But having a military organization in the lead could create headaches around legality and sovereignty.
Plus, Cyber Command’s own chief isn’t sold on the idea. Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, who also helms the NSA, has said the FBI and DHS should be in the driver’s seat as part of a “whole of government” approach to ransomware.
“This is the area right now that the administration is working towards, in terms of understanding who’s going to have the lead and how are we going to deal with this,” he told a House Armed Services subcommittee on Friday.
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), the chair of the Armed Services cybersecurity subpanel, argued that Cyber Command is busy enough with its existing missions and that offense should run through traditional law enforcement and diplomatic routes.
He said a new joint cyber planning office in DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency should be the hub for such efforts. That office, created by last year’s defense policy bill, could “focus on improving defenses, taking down infrastructure, bots and going after payments, criminal investigations and international coordination,” said Langevin, who also serves on the House Homeland Security Committee.
The key for any strategy, argued Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Intelligence and Armed Services panels and co-chair of the congressionally chartered Cyberspace Solarium Commission, is forcing Russia out into the open with its look-the-other-way approach to the gangs.
“They can’t allow international criminals to operate with impunity within their borders,” King said. “If we had a gang of international bank robbers living in Richmond, Va., I think we’d go after them.”
Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.