Shaping the Future of Cyber Diplomacy: Review for State Department Reauthorization

Europe

2025-04-29

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

Summary of Meeting: Cyber Diplomacy and U.S. National Security

Introductory Paragraph:

This meeting focused on the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (CDP) and its role in advancing U.S. national security interests in the increasingly complex digital landscape. The discussion highlighted critical cyber threats posed by state and non-state actors, the importance of international collaboration, and the challenges in ensuring effective coordination among U.S. government agencies.

Key Themes:

  • Multifaceted Cyber Threats: The meeting identified several major cyber threats stemming from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, ranging from espionage and intellectual property theft to disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure and ransomware campaigns.
  • The Need for International Partnerships: Collaboration with allies and partners, particularly through shared cybersecurity norms, training programs, and information-sharing agreements, was recognized as vital to deterring aggression and responding effectively to cyberattacks.
  • CDP's Role as a Central Coordinator: CDP’s central role in coordinating cybersecurity efforts across the U.S. government was repeatedly emphasized, acting as a central hub for information sharing, training, and strategic engagement with foreign partners.
  • Challenges to Coordination: Overlap between CDP and other U.S. government agencies (DHS, DOJ, DOD) presented coordination challenges that needed to be addressed to maximize the impact of the Bureau’s work.
  • Human Capital is Crucial: Maintaining a skilled cybersecurity workforce, a focus on training, and ongoing professional development were identified as vital for both the U.S. government and its partners.

Tone of the Meeting:

The meeting conveyed a tone of serious concern regarding the evolving cyber threat landscape, alongside a pragmatic recognition of the challenges in effectively countering these threats. There was a strong emphasis on the need for strategic coordination, robust partnerships, and sustained investment in human capital. While acknowledging the urgency of the situation, there was a measured and professional approach, punctuated by moments of spirited debate and thoughtful consideration of the complex issues at hand. The meeting highlighted the importance of all parties working together to deter aggression, protect critical infrastructure, and ensure the stability of the international digital ecosystem.

Participants

Transcript

poses a significant cyber threat with its efforts to compromise sensitive targets for intelligence collection and to pre-position access to U.S.  critical infrastructure.  In addition to Beijing and Moscow, Tehran has demonstrated an increasing willingness to carry out aggressive cyber operations to the security of U.S.  networks and data.   Furthermore, Pyongyang's cyber program presents a highly capable and maturing threat, including an approach to launder and cash out cryptocurrency from the United States and other victims to fund its nefarious activities.  As cyber becomes a growing battlefield for criminal networks and malign actors, the State Department must be ready to meet the challenge.   The US is not facing these real and growing threats alone.
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Ms. Annie Fixler
Through cooperation with our allies and our partners, the US will continue to work to combat malign cyber activities from the PRC, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
Since the recent establishment of CDP, it's played a role in the U.S.
response to a major ransomware campaign in Costa Rica that disrupted critical services.
In particular, CDP, alongside other federal partners, worked to strengthen Costa Rica's cyber defenses against attacks from malicious actors threatening the security of both our countries.   It has also worked to identify strategic opportunities to leverage partner resources to further U.S.  strategic objectives through subsea cable projects in the Pacific Islands.  Such efforts ensure that the Pacific Islands rely on trusted primarily American businesses for their internet connectivity while also countering the PRC's influence in the strategically important region.   On the other hand, the Department of State agreement on a cyber crime UN treaty that conflicted with CDP policy lead and recommendations begs the question of the actual authority wielded by CDP.  This hearing should lead us toward conclusions on how to improve CDP efficiency and effectiveness in this vital area of national interest and security.   As we move through this reauthorization process, the experience and insights from today's witnesses will help inform this subcommittee on the State Department's cyber diplomacy role in addressing these increasingly important challenges.  I look forward to hearing your testimony and recommendations.  The chair now recognizes the ranking member, the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Keating, for any statement he may have.   Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to our witnesses for being here today.
For years, bipartisan members of this committee have recognized the necessity for the State Department to take on the important task of cyber diplomacy.
In 2021, the Biden administration announced the creation of the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, CDP,   with bipartisan support and the Department of State Authorization Act of 2022 authorized the CDP Bureau into statute, an important step in recognizing the need for robust and comprehensive approach to cyber diplomacy.
With the CDP Bureau established in statute, it's worked in conjunction with this committee to lead the State Department's diplomatic cyberspace and cybersecurity efforts encompassing both hard security and economic policy.
As our adversaries, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, each take different approaches to undermining U.S.  actions in cyberspace, bolstering U.S.
cyber capabilities through a strong CDP bureau is more important than ever.   The CDP Bureau has worked to advance US interest in cyberspace across multiple lines of effort.  For example, following the 2022 ransomware attack in Costa Rica by a Russian-linked cybercrime group, the CDP Bureau provided swift, decisive support to Costa Ricans and their authorities to bolster the country's digital defenses and resiliency.
This emergency support was critical to ensure that a partner in our own hemisphere
was able to effectively respond to an unprecedented attack.  Similarly, the State Department worked to strengthen Ukraine's cyber defenses in the midst of Russia's full-scale illegal invasion of the country through the Digital Connectivity Cybersecurity Partnership Program, a joint venture by the Department of USAID.  These are just a few examples of the CDP Bureau's important work to bolster our allies and partners while promoting
American values and security in cyberspace.
While I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about an important bureau which has long maintained bipartisan support, it's unfortunately clear that neither this majority nor the Trump administration has any interest or intent to engage constructively on a reauthorization of the State Department.   Last week, Secretary Rubio unveiled a proposed reorganization plan for the State Department without any meaningful consultation with Congress.  Reorganization would decimate the Department's cyber policy tools by splitting it in half.  CDP's economic structures would be moved under the economic family of your bureau, and CDP's hard security offices would be placed in a new emerging threats bureau.   This move will create exactly the duplication and the waste this administration says it seeks to avoid.  Even more concerning, it deprioritizes a cross-cutting issue that needs to be tackled holistically and at the highest levels.
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Mr. Theodore Nemeroff
Our witnesses here today and many experts in the field have all pointed out the importance of capacity building in cyberspace and maintaining and recruiting the skills required for a qualified cyber diplomacy workforce.
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Ms. Latesha Love-Grayer
Unfortunately, rather than invest in capacity building in places like Costa Rica and Ukraine, the Trump administration has slashed the US foreign assistance budget and illegally eliminated USAID, a chief implementer of the capacity building programs.
At the same time, GAO and Ms.
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Ms. Latesha Love-Grayer
Love-Grayers, they found out that nonpartisan report that while CDP is currently staffed and fully operational, it needs to train existing staff and hire more people to meet its growth plans.
Rather than seeking to recruit and train staff, the Trump administration has attacked and politicized the federal workforce, leaving a legacy of destruction and indeed distrust.  Finally, rather than listen to the advice of experts, consult with industry professionals, and engage with the State Department, this committee has effectively served as a rubber stamp for the administration's destructive actions.
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Ms. Annie Fixler
Ms.  Fixler, you concluded in an article on March 17th that capacity-building programs, including those implemented by USAID, are   not merely altruistic endeavors, they advance critical U.S.  interest.

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