WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, Chair of the Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Subcommittee, joined a bipartisan group of her colleagues to request updates from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) on their ability to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats against the country’s critical transportation infrastructure.

“Cyberattacks on American transportation infrastructure are escalating in frequency and severity, as evidenced by the ransomware attack [in 2021] on Colonial Pipeline, one of the nation’s largest pipelines, which led to the shutdown of a network that carries nearly half the gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel for the East Coast,” wrote the Senators in a letter to Secretaries Pete Buttigieg of DOT and Alexander Mayorkas of DHS. “At the same time, many state and local transit agencies are not fully equipped to implement more than basic cybersecurity protections.”

“As such, we request information about DHS and DOT’s security-related processes to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats, including the responsibilities of each component agency under the Transportation Systems Sector-Specific Plan to secure the nation’s critical infrastructure.”

As Chair of the Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Subcommittee, Senator Hassan is leading bipartisan efforts to strengthen national security, including by strengthening cybersecurity across all levels of government. The bipartisan infrastructure package that is now law includes Senator Hassan’s measure to create a state and local cybersecurity grant program. Furthermore, Senator Hassan previously passed into law her measure to create a Cybersecurity Coordinator in every state including New Hampshire to help federal, state, and local governments, as well as schools, hospitals, and other entities, coordinate and better protect their systems against cyberattacks.