Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser said America needs to take a stronger stance on cyberattacks. Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., said he’s ready to get hackers to “knock it off” during an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Dec. 15.
The comments follow a series of threats and cyberattacks on America’s digital infrastructure in recent months. Waltz said it’s time for the government to finally create an offensive playbook that can counter the growing threat.
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The congressman told CBS News that malicious cyber groups can infiltrate the nation’s most private and sensitive data at any time, and that they need to be held accountable.
Waltz said the U.S. needs to “start imposing, I think, higher costs and consequences to private actors and nation-state actors that continue to steal our data, that continue to spy on us.”
Sunday’s interview comes after the White House said a Chinese hacking group dubbed Salt Typhoon breached eight U.S. telecom companies earlier this month. Access to texts and numbers, including data from more than a million Americans, was granted to officials in Beijing.
According to Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger, hackers dug into communications between top U.S. government officials and political figures, including the presidential campaigns of both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger said, adding that the threat is still out there.
“So there is a risk of ongoing compromises to communications until U.S. companies address the cybersecurity gaps the Chinese are likely to maintain their access,” she said.
Meanwhile, Waltz also discussed the largest cyberattack that impacted America’s oil pipeline. The Colonial Pipeline was hit in 2021, sending the nation into a desperate pursuit to find fuel. The Houston-based company was forced to pay the hackers millions of dollars to restore the system.
Waltz said Trump is on board with changing current policies for cybercriminals while using assets the nation already has at its disposal.
“We’ve got a tremendous private sector with a lot of capability. That relationship between public and private, with our tech industry, they could be doing a lot of good and helping,” Waltz said.
Chinese officials have denied that the country is behind any cyberattacks and threats impacting the United States.
