Episode 234: Rep. Jim Langevin on Cyber Policy in an Age of Political Polarization

In this episode of the podcast (#234) US Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI), joins Paul to talk about the flurry of legislation passed on Capitol Hill in recent months to boost the U.S.’s cyber defenses. Rep Langevin and Paul talk about how cybersecurity legislation receives bipartisan support -a rarity in Congress these days – and the challenges of protecting U.S. critical infrastructure in an age of sophisticated cyber adversaries like Russia and China. As always,  you can check our full conversation in our latest Security Ledger podcast at Blubrry. You can also listen to it on iTunes and Spotify. Or, check us out on Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Radio Public and more. Also: if you enjoy this podcast, consider signing up to receive it in your email. Just point your web browser to securityledger.com/subscribe to get notified whenever a new podcast is posted.  [MP3] Political dysfunction is the Zeitgeist on Capitol Hill, where divisions between the two, main political parties have taken center stage and distrust runs deep after a violent attempt by supporters of former President Trump to overturn the November presidential election on January 6. But even in these challenging times, there are areas of cooperation between the two major parties. One is cybersecurity, where recent months have seen progress in funding improved cyber readiness at the local level.  Episode 222: US Rep. Himes on Congress’s About-face on Cybersecurity Cyber Policy: An Area of Agreement One example is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in November and signed into law by President Biden on November 15. That bill allocated $2 billion to improve the nation’s cyber defenses. That includes $1 billion in grants to improve state and local government cybersecurity and a quarter billion dollars each to fund cyber improvements in rural and municipal utilities and to develop advanced cybersecurity applications and technologies for the energy sector.  Jim Langevin is a Democratic Representative from...