U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) highlighted the importance of cybersecurity on Wednesday during a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) budget hearing.
NIST Director Willie May testified before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee about cybersecurity and problems that emerged following a meth lab explosion at an NIST campus in Maryland last summer.
“As you all know, one of the great challenges of the 21st century is cybersecurity,” Comstock, the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Research and Technology, said. “Considering the constantly evolving cyber threats and technology, it is imperative that we do everything that we can to protect our citizens. In order to ensure this, NIST plays a very important role by providing guidelines and standards to help reduce cyber risks to federal agencies and critical infrastructure.”
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, called it “surprising” that the NIST was unaware of a meth lab on its property before the explosion last summer.
“The meth lab explosion and subsequent investigation have raised serious concerns about the safety and security of the entire NIST campus,” Smith said. “Information obtained during this committee’s investigation of the meth lab at NIST appears to show a culture of waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct at NIST Police Services. It also appears that police equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars is unaccounted for or missing from the police force. These unfortunate examples undermine NIST’s mission to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness, which enhances economic security and improves our quality of life.”
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, questioned May about a “plutonium incident” that was cited in an email exchange between NIST employees after the meth lab explosion.
From the 1980s until October 2014, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report, NIST failed to keep records showing the receipt, inventory, acquisition, transfer and disposal of nuclear material.
Following Wednesday’s hearing, Smith and Loudermilk sent a letter to the NIST regarding nuclear material allegations.
“If this information is accurate, it raises serious questions about the plutonium incident and whether NIST officials appropriately responded to the situation,” Smith and Loudermilk wrote. “It also further raises concerns about NIST officials being less than forthcoming about wrongdoing occurring at the agency.”