GOP Intel Rep. Stewart: We Don’t Know How Deep Cyberattack Goes, ‘Should Be a Price to Pay’ for It

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) stated that the cyberattack on the federal government is “bad” and we don’t know how bad it was. He also stated that “there should be a price to pay,” for cyberattacks by foreign governments “and too often, there just isn’t.”

Stewart said, “It’s bad. And the worse news is, is we don’t know yet how bad. We truly don’t know an inventory yet of how deep this goes or how broad it goes.”

He added, “[W]e allow these foreign governments to attack us through cyber means with impunity. I mean, we never enforce any sanctions or any repercussions because of that. And because of that, there’s no downside for them. So they push and they push and they push, and, look, I understand, I’ve talked to some of the smartest people in the world on this, I understand that there is a downside when we punish them, but I think there has to be a cost for some of this. You look at the OPM breach, 22 million Americans’ records taken, from which the Chinese are able to discern incredibly sensitive information. This is another example of it. And look, I’m not suggesting we go bomb Russia, of course, but I’m saying there should be a price to pay, and too often, there just isn’t.”

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