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Chairman Green Joins CNBC’s “The Exchange” Ahead of Field Hearing on US Cybersecurity Posture

May 27, 2025

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Ahead of a field hearing at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution tomorrow entitled “Innovation Nation: Leveraging Technology to Secure Cyberspace and Streamline Compliance,” House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) joined CNBC’s “The Exchange,” alongside Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, to discuss how the public and private sectors can work together to strengthen the United States’ cybersecurity posture. 

In tomorrow’s hearing, members will examine issues impacting our cybersecurity posture and the solutions to those issues, including around critical infrastructure resilience, technological innovation, and regulatory harmonization. 

Watch the full interview here and read highlights below.

On the government’s role in countering cyber threats, Chairman Green said:

“I see a lot of problems out there. Obviously, the sophistication of the attacks, 150-percent increase from China just in 2024. We’ve got a workforce shortage, so we’re out listening to––what does it take to prepare the cyber workforce and how can government be a partner in that? [The] government is siloed in its protection of itself. You know, the ‘dot gov’ domain is very siloed, and then our compliance, our regulatory stuff, gets more in the way. So, we’re out here to listen and basically turn that information sharing into action. We want to make sure that the things that we’re doing are helping and not hurting. That’s why tomorrow is so important.”
 
On the goal of the hearing, Arora said:

“It’s for the entire cybersecurity industry. The goal needs to be more sharing, more understanding of what threat AI brings to all of us, both in terms of the opportunities to do cybersecurity better, but also in terms of some of the newer challenges that are going to come out of this. And I appreciate Chairman Green and the committee making their way to California because this is where it’s all happening right now…  Start with the fundamental principle that this stuff needs to be secure, don’t focus a dime on sort of what happens after the fact, don’t focus on compliance––focus on how to get it right the first time. So I think it’s really exciting that he’s here and [I’m] really excited that he’s going to get a lot of input and feedback from many, many players.”
 
On how duplicative cybersecurity regulations impact the U.S. cybersecurity posture, Chairman Green said:

“I think we both agree that government overreach, compliance requirements, is weighing down actual cybersecurity. So, one of my initiatives is to identify those areas where the government is asking for compliance when it doesn’t need to and contradicting itself, even.” 

On solutions to the cybersecurity workforce shortage in America, Chairman Green said:

“Now, I would say that with 500,000 empty cybersecurity jobs in America, I think we do have a cyber workforce shortage… AI is going to help cut into that need massively, and so I’m all for that, but with your local cooperative power company in Tennessee, attracting people when there’s 500,000 empty positions out there––it’s difficult. So, we’ve responded to that with the [Cyber] PIVOTT Act. It’s a scholarship program for young people and even mid-career folks to transition [and] get a cybersecurity degree.”

On the current cyber threat landscape, Arora said:

“Things that used to take days now can be simulated in 24 minutes. A company can be attacked, or perhaps a local entity, government, can be attacked in 24 minutes and ransomware data extracted––and the response times are woefully inadequate. So, making sure everybody understands that the problem is changing… I totally agree that we don’t need the government to tell us how to solve the problem. I think we need them to make sure that the right light is focused on the problem, people are actively engaged together to solve the problem, and to the extent that Congress can get educated in that regard so they are making the right moves as opposed to the wrong moves.”  

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