WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Today, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Chairman Andy Ogles (R-TN) and Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Josh Brecheen (R-OK) delivered the following opening statements in a hearing to examine how rapidly advancing technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, and hyperscale cloud infrastructure are transforming America’s cybersecurity defenses while also expanding the capabilities of foreign adversaries like the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 

Watch Chairman Ogles’ opening statement.

As prepared for delivery: 

Good morning, and thank you all for being here. I want to begin by thanking Chairman Brecheen and the Members of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability for partnering with my Subcommittee to hold this hearing. The issues before us today affect national security, economic competitiveness, and public trust, and they deserve attention that reflects their scale and importance.

We are meeting at a time when the technologies shaping our digital environment are also shaping the security and strength of the United States. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and quantum technologies are now woven into how federal, state, and local governments operate, how intelligence is collected and analyzed, how critical infrastructure functions, and how American companies compete in a global economy.

These technologies offer extraordinary promise, but they also introduce risks that are advancing faster than many of the frameworks and systems designed to manage them.

Artificial intelligence is changing the pace and character of cyber activity. It allows information to be processed at speeds far beyond human capacity, enables automation across complex networks, and supports decision making at scale. These capabilities can strengthen cyber defense and improve resilience. However, they can also be exploited to accelerate malicious activity, expand the reach of cyber operations, and make hostile actions more difficult to detect, attribute, and disrupt.

Cloud computing has amplified both opportunity and risk. Cloud platforms have enabled modernization across government and industry, supporting flexibility, scalability, and innovation. Yet, they also consolidate vast amounts of data, access, and computing power into shared environments, raising the stakes of security, configuration, and oversight decisions.

Quantum technologies present a longer term challenge with significant implications. Much of our digital security relies on encryption to protect sensitive communications, verify identities, and secure critical systems. Advances in quantum computing raise serious questions about whether today’s encryption methods will remain effective in the future. Our adversaries understand this risk and are already planning for it, including by collecting encrypted data now with the expectation that it may be accessed later.

The threat environment surrounding these developments is intensifying.

The People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation are investing heavily in advanced computing, automation, and data exploitation as tools of national power. They view artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and emerging technologies as means to gain strategic advantage, conduct sustained cyber and intelligence operations, and operate below the threshold of open conflict.

China, in particular, has pursued a model that tightly integrates government, military, academia, and the private sector. This approach allows innovations developed for commercial purposes to be adapted quickly for state use. In cyberspace, it supports operations built for scale and persistence, including the use of automated tools to scan networks, identify vulnerabilities, manage stolen credentials, and analyze large volumes of data across many targets simultaneously.

At the same time, these technologies provide the United States with powerful tools to strengthen security and resilience. Artificial intelligence can improve threat detection and response. Cloud computing can enhance reliability and operational flexibility. Advances in quantum research may ultimately yield new security capabilities. The challenge lies in ensuring these benefits are realized without introducing vulnerabilities that adversaries can exploit.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency play an essential role in this effort. Their work on cloud security practices, artificial intelligence risk management, and preparation for future changes in encryption helps shape how federal agencies and critical infrastructure operators address emerging threats. 

Congress also has an important responsibility. Oversight helps ensure that security keeps pace with adoption, that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, and that risks are addressed early rather than after serious harm has occurred. This is not about slowing innovation. It is about making sure innovation strengthens the nation rather than exposing it.

The decisions being made now about how artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and quantum technologies are secured will shape the country’s security and prosperity for years to come.

Watch Chairman Brecheen’s opening statement.

As prepared for delivery:

Thank you, Chairman Ogles. Good morning and thank you for joining us today to discuss the highly complex and important issue of artificial intelligence’s role in carrying out cyber-attacks. 

As chair of the subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability, I am looking forward to partnering with our Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection to focus on this topic and explore ways Congress can assist the Department of Homeland Security in countering this new threat. 

The integration of AI into cyberattacks should concern all Americans. 

The recent cyber-attack leveraging Anthropic’s AI infrastructure showed that complex attack campaigns can now be conducted with little-to-no human intervention at speeds faster than any human could replicate.  

We’ve all seen how AI can easily streamline tasks that would otherwise be labor-intensive, both in business and in everyday life. 

However, now that an attack like this has successfully taken place, I think we can expect to see more events like this in the future. 

The proof of concept is there. And even if U.S.-based AI companies can put safeguards against using their models for cyberattacks, cyber threat actors will find other ways to access this technology.

China, our most significant cyber threat actor, continues to search for new tactics to infiltrate critical U.S. systems, and is prioritizing the development of advanced computing technology and AI that supports its economic and strategic goals.

Cyber espionage has been a key part of China’s ongoing campaign of stealing intellectual property to fuel rapid technological advancement at the expense of American innovators.

As this Committee has highlighted over the years, cyber actors linked to China pose a threat on an unprecedented scale targeting U.S. companies, critical infrastructure, and the federal government.

As technologies like AI continue to advance at rapid speeds, we must be vigilant and strategic in protecting our intellectual property and national security. 

From an oversight perspective, we need to make sure that federal civilian agencies are taking the proactive steps needed to protect sensitive networks against intrusions. 

Technology doesn’t advance on the government’s timeline; we can’t afford to have federal cybersecurity practices move at the speed of government.

That path leaves us reacting to security failures instead of proactively confronting today’s evolving threats. 

This is an area where the federal government can partner with, and learn from, the private sector to implement best practices and incorporate modern technology. 

Additionally, the federal government needs to be better at sharing information on cyber threats between federal agencies and with private stakeholders, in a timelier manner. 

I hope to learn in today’s hearing ways that Congress can empower the Department of Homeland Security, and its subagencies, to counter this threat and ensure the safety and integrity of U.S.-based cyber infrastructure. 

I want to thank our panel of witnesses for joining us today to discuss this latest cyberattack and the implications that Congress and the American people need to consider as we think about how to protect critical networks in the age of AI.

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