WASHINGTON — During a much-publicized Senate hearing on Wednesday involving cyber security and government surveillance, Sen. Richard Shelby took a lead role in questioning witnesses, including Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Cyber Command.

Alexander’s testimony was particularly noteworthy coming on the heels of revelations that the NSA has been gathering data from Americans’ private phone records and emails.

“The cyber threat is increasing and becoming more challenging as our adversaries grow bolder and more capable,” Shelby said in his opening remarks to the committee and witnesses. “We have seen recent and stark reminders of the threat with constant cyber attacks on the financial sector, Chinese hacking of The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, Iranian attacks against a Saudi oil company and reports that information on our most advanced weapons systems was stolen by the Chinese.”

Shelby said that Chinese attackers are “running an extensive cyber espionage campaign with the likely support of the Chinese government” and that Iranian hacking in the United States has also recently been exposed.

“These troubling developments remind us of how urgently we need a coordinated effort to counter and respond to these attacks,” Shelby said. “[T]his Committee may be the only one with jurisdiction over the full complement of government organizations involved in cyber security.”

President Obama on Tuesday signed an executive order which he believes will help combat cyber attacks on government agencies and private sector companies in the U.S. The executive order outlines a “framework” being built to share information between the government and private companies on cyber attacks and threats. Details are somewhat sparse at this point, and many privacy-related questions remain unanswered.

Sen. Shelby pointed out some of the areas where he sees room for improvement in the Obama administration’s vision for a cyber security framework, and said there may be a need for additional legislation and funding appropriations.

“Cyber security is an immediate priority, but the framework envisioned in the executive order will take time to develop and even longer to implement,” he said. “There are still areas that need more attention and may require legislation, such as information sharing.”

“Additionally, the working relationship between the government and the private sector is still a work in progress,” Shelby continued. “Funding requirements also remain unclear in a time of fiscal uncertainty. Clearly more needs to be done.”

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