Underwood Continues to Protect Small Businesses and Elections From Foreign Interference During Homeland Security Subcommittee Hearing

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Underwood (IL-14) continued her work to strengthen small businesses' cyber infrastructure and secure U.S. elections at a House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing. Underwood questioned Jen Easterly, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) about CISA's strategy to share cybersecurity resources, including by hosting more workshops to help small and medium businesses, along with local governments, effectively identify and respond to malicious cyber activity.

"Cyber threats have never been more pressing, and CISA has a unique opportunity to reach a wide range of small and medium businesses and local organizations and ensure they're equipped with resources to prevent and respond to cyber attacks. I'm committed to amplifying CISA's resources and expanding them so that local communities are empowered to protect themselves and their cyber infrastructure," said Underwood.

CISA developed its strategy to prepare small and medium businesses and local governments for cyber attacks at the direction of Underwood's Safe Communities Act.

"I was proud that the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 included a component of my Safe Communities Act, which protects communities from domestic terrorism. This provision required CISA to develop a stakeholder outreach and operational engagement strategy to ensure that critical infrastructure and nonprofit organizations are benefiting from DHS's services," continued Underwood.

Full video of Underwood's remarks can be viewed here.

Underwood introduced the Safe Communities Act after visiting her District with CISA's Protective Security Advisors, who are trained in critical infrastructure protection and advise state, local, and private sector critical infrastructure owners and operators, and after hearing from community members that they weren't aware of the agency's resources and services.

CISA offers a range of professional, no-cost cybersecurity assessments to businesses and organizations. CISA's tools can be viewed here. CISA issued Shields Up guidance, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which recommends all organizations adopt a heightened posture when it comes to cybersecurity and protecting their infrastructure.

Underwood also questioned Easterly on the measures CISA is taking to secure U.S. election infrastructure. In 2016, Russian hackers penetrated the State of Illinois Board of Elections voter registration database, stealing the personal data of about 76,000 Illinois voters. Underwood pressed Easterly on CISA's work with state and local election officials to secure elections, and she asked about new and evolving threats specific to the 2022 election.

Since Underwood's time as chair of the Homeland Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation Subcommittee in the 116th Congress, securing elections from foreign interference has been a top priority. Underwood is committed to assessing the work the federal government is doing to help Illinois prevent future attempts to access voter information and voting systems.

###