DoD Nominee Elbridge Colby on Protecting the US from Russia and China

Threats from Russia

• ⚠️ Russia continues to pose cyber threats, evidenced by incidents like SolarWinds and the Colonial Pipeline compromise.
• 🛡️ The nominee recommends maintaining the highest level of cyber vigilance and capability in response to Russian threats.
• 🤝 Reciprocal steps in arms control should be credibly reciprocated by Russia, rather than unilateral disarmament.
• ⚔️ From a defense perspective, Russia presents a significant military threat to Europe and the homeland.

China's Cyber Operations

• 🇨🇳 The nominee agrees that China poses a cyber threat and has prepositioned cyber capabilities for potential conflict.
• 💡 Colby would bring a background in deterrence, denial, resilience, defenses, cyber offensive operations, and intelligence gathering to address Chinese threats.
• 🌪️ Cyber threats like Vol Typhoon, Salt Typhoon, and Flax Typhoon are designed to create enormous chaos and instability.
• 🚨 These attacks could specifically inhibit or break down US military operations.

Iran and National Security

• 🇮🇷 Iran poses a very severe threat to the United States and its allies, particularly Israel.
• 🤝 The nominee expressed willingness to work with Senator Gillibrand on cybersecurity strategies for both Russia and China.