Virginia governor calls on Congress for bipartisan cybersecurity plan

The governor of Virginia urged Congress Wednesday to see past part politics to create a meaningful cybersecurity plan for the good of the nation.

“I have been very public in my displeasure with the Congress,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said at the VMWare Public Sector Innovation Summit, produced by FedScoop and StateScoop. “I think this is the biggest threat that faces the United States of America.”

McAuliffe criticized Congress for not having a dedicated committee in either chamber dedicated exclusively to cybersecurity — instead, the cybersecurity oversight and rulemaking responsibility is split between many different panels. He also called on Congress to act on building a national plan for cybersecurity that includes states, cities, counties and the federal government.

“Put all the partisanship aside and come together to come up with a comprehensive plan,” McAuliffe said. “[States] need more funding to do what we need to do. We understand where we are collectively.”

Read more form McAuliffe’s keynote in Jake Williams’ coverage on StateScoop.