Hearings to examine the Department's cyber force generation plan and the associated implementation p... Show more

Senate 119th · January 28, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Russell Senate Office Building, Room 232A · Scheduled

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Witnesses (3)
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy
Acting Commander, U.S. Cyber Command; Performing the Duties of Director, National Security Agency/Ch
Deputy Director for Global Operations, J3 Joint Staff
Rosen, Jacky: Thank you, Chairman Rounds. right to it. So, this hearing is so important. I, again, appreciate the way that the Chairman and I work together, hearing from all of you about the Department of Defense, your Cyber Force Generation Plan, the Associated Implementation Plan, CyberCom 2.0. And for the witnesses here, thank you for your service and your commitment, because now more than ever, the United States needs a cyber workforce equipped with the acumen expertise to defend our networks, to execute offensive operations in a rapidly, is not our national security objectives. only mentions cyber in three places. Cyber is everywhere. I'm frankly surprised at how little emphasis has been placed on cyber in comparison to other capabilities in the NDS. It doesn't engender much confidence that cyber is being treated with the necessary urgency or priority by this administration that I think we would all agree that we need. The Department of Defense must take swift action to develop programs that enable our cyber warfighters to increase cyber domain mastery and operational readiness. It's critical. We have to promote standardized training across all of our services. And we need effective initiatives for retention. Because in an era of persistent cyber threats, when foreign adversaries like China and Russia and Iran, they're probing and testing and challenging our systems, I would say by the nanosecond, not even enough to say daily, every single second. They're seeking any opportunity they can to degrade our command control, disrupt our operations, steal our most sensitive information. And they're using sophisticated cyber tactics to disrupt military operations, spreading dangerous propaganda to American citizens, and denying access to life-saving goods. So advancements in artificial intelligence by our adversaries, of course, they heighten the sense of urgency we must all feel right now. We must have to protect against AI-orchestrated campaigns aimed at targeting, well, targeting And we can't defend against these disturbing yet real threats without cyber professionals every step along the way, armed with the requisite skills and abilities to bolster the cyber enterprise. And so for too long, the approach to manning, training, equipping our cyber forces, we've And we need to really step that up, in my opinion. And the Department of Defense, we know we struggle, continue to struggle with recruitment, retaining cyber talent, particularly against such a competitive private sector. And so this issue undermines our readiness across all domains. And it's a priority of this subcommittee, and the committee at large, to help the department do everything that we can to fix it. Because we can't fight today's digital wars without the outdated infrastructure, without We need a skilled professional cybersecurity force. It's not a luxury. It's a foundational requirement for all of us. So I am committed to work together in a bipartisan way on this committee, on the full committee, with all of you, to be sure that we have the cyber force of the future that we need and will continue to need going forward. Thank you again for your work and for being here. Mr. Chairman, thank you. And we all know you.

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