Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), has warned leaders at the Department of Defense (DoD) against ending the dual-hat relationship between U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and the National Security Agency (NSA).
“Any action to sever the dual-hat relationship could have grave impacts on our national security, especially during a time that the country is wrestling with what may be the most damaging cyber-attack in our country’s history,” Smith wrote in a Friday letter to Acting DOD Secretary Christopher Miller and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and four-time Wash100 Award recipient.
Smith said in the letter that Section 1642 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2017 sets conditions that must be satisfied before terminating the structure, including “an elevation of the operational dependence of CYBERCOM on the NSA and an analysis of the ability to CYBERCOM and NSA to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities.”
He also called on Gen. Milley and Miller to consult with the House Armed Services Committee regarding any potential measures to implement the termination of the dual-hat structure.
