The Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) was a United States bipartisan, congressionally mandated intergovernmental body created by the

John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (NDAA 2019) is a United States federal law which specifies the budget, expenditures and policies of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for fiscal year 2019. It was si ...

. Its purpose was "to develop a strategic approach to defense against cyber attacks of significant consequences" to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The commission was sunsetted on December 21, 2021, but is continuing its work as a non-profit in 2022, led by Mark Montgomery, the commission's former executive director at the non-profit organization

Foundation for the Defense of Democracies The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank and registered lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C., United States. The group's political leanings have been described as hawkish and neoconserva ...

(FDD) with a limited staff and the support of a small number of senior advisors. Known as CSC 2.0, this project preserves the legacy and continues the work of the CSC.

Mandate and work

The CSC was created in 2019 with the objective to establish policy solutions required to prevent and prepare the United States against cyber attacks. The commission is considered to have had a major impact on cybersecurity policies by providing blueprints for further transformative processes on the future. In 2019, a small group of members from the DoD and

DHS The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

, including Mark Montgomery, future executive director, later joined by the future chief of staff to the commission worked to create the building blocks of the commission, working to establish strategy, office, functions, and hiring. The commission hired multiple directors and senior directors and was augmented by multiple detailees from federal agencies to create three task forces and a forth directorate to cover the whole of cyberspace strategy for the United States. During the course of the commission, the staff engaged with over 400 agencies, public sector representatives, and cyber experts.

Report

The Cyberspace Solarium Commission issued a report in March 2020, listing 83 recommendations, for Congressional and Executive action. Over the course of two years, the commission's work led Congress to legislate, appoint, and confirm the National Cyber Director, pushed the release of cybersecurity-focused executive orders, and broadened the authorities and expanded the budget of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The commission made recommendations organized into the categories below.

Commission members

During its tenure, the commission included the following members: * Co-Chair Senator

Angus King Angus Stanley King Jr. (born March 31, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Maine since 2013. A political independent since 1993, he previously served as the 72nd governor of Maine from ...

(I- Maine) * Co-Chair Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) * Representative

Jim Langevin James R. Langevin ( ; born April 22, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the first quadriplegic to serve in Congress; Langevin was appointed to be the first ...

* Senator

Ben Sasse Benjamin Eric Sasse ( ; born February 22, 1972) is an American politician and academic administrator serving as the junior United States senator for Nebraska since 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Born in Plainview, Nebraska, Sas ...

Chris Inglis John Chris Inglis (born October 29, 1954), also known as Chris Inglis, is an American government official who served as the first National Cyber Director. Inglis is also a former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency. On April 12, 2021 ...

* Suzanne Spaulding * Frank Cilluffo * Samantha Ravich * Tom Fanning * Patrick Murphy * Office of the Secretary of the Department of Defense * Office of the

Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the Un ...

* Office of the

Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Comm ...

, represented by Christopher Wray * Office of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

The four federal agency representatives rotated based on agency availability, but were most often attended by the highest policy senior executives in their particular agency.

External links

* (no longer updated)
CSC 2.0 Project official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyberspace Solarium Commission 2019 establishments in the United States United States national commissions Cyberwarfare in the United States