March 18, 2020

The Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s Mandate to Fix Congressional Oversight

The report of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission is finally out—and it provides a fresh look at congressional oversight on cybersecurity.

Congress established the commission as part of the 2019 John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act. Co-chaired by Sen. Angus King and Rep. Mike Gallagher, the commission was charged with “develop[ing] a [bipartisan] consensus on a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace against cyber attacks of significant consequences.” Its report, which was released March 11, makes more than 75 recommendations for both government and the private sector to improve the nation’s defenses against cyberattack and malign cyber activity. We write to highlight the aspect of the report focused on improving Congress’s role in overseeing the government’s activities to better protect the nation from cyberattack and malign cyber activity.

Read the full article in Lawfare.

  • Reports
    • January 30, 2020
    Rebooting Congressional Cybersecurity Oversight

    The current “patchwork” legal framework is ill suited to address cybersecurity questions either for legislative oversight or effective policymaking....

    By Carrie Cordero & David Thaw

  • Commentary
    • Foreign Affairs
    • July 29, 2020
    Can China’s Military Win the Tech War?

    The United States and its allies should take seriously Beijing’s efforts to militarize China’s technological base....

    By Anja Manuel & Kathleen Hicks

    • Transcript
    • May 20, 2020
    Transcript from Emerging Concepts in Joint Command and Control

    On Wednesday, May 20, 2020, the CNAS Technology and National Security Program hosted a virtual panel discussion on emerging concepts in joint command and control featuring Hon...

    By Robert O. Work, Chris Dougherty & Paul Scharre

  • Commentary
    • Space News
    • May 13, 2020
    What the government should or should not do to help space industry

    The COVID-19 economic slowdown will have lasting implications on the new space sector. Yet the United States cannot afford another lost decade of commercial space innovation. ...

    By Mikhail Grinberg

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia