Dutch Ruppersberger: “First of all, I do want to thank the chairman for working with us in a bipartisan way to protect our country from this…”

“First of all, I do want to thank the chairman for working with us in a bipartisan way to protect our country from this very serious threat of cyberattacks. As the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, people often ask me what keeps me up at night. I tell them: weapons of mass destruction entering the country undetected and also a catastrophic cyberattack shutting down our water supply, power grid or banking systems; and those are just a few of the many areas that could be attacked and shut down. Every day, U.S. Web sites and our Nation's networks are threatened by foreign governments like China, Iran, Russia, and other groups trying to steal our money and valuable trade secrets. According to the National Counterterrorism Executive, the number one thing cyberthieves are trying to steal is information and communication technology, which form the backbone of nearly every other technology. In fact, according to the United States Cyber Command, $300 billion worth of trade secrets are stolen every year. This proves we need to make real changes to how we protect our cybersystems. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act helps the private sector protect itself and its clients from these attackers and data thieves.…”