The National Security Agency’s director advocated for public-private sector partnerships to identify and combat cyber threats at a Tuesday congressional hearing, American Forces Press Service reports.
Army Gen. Keith Alexander, also head of Cyber Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Defense Department servers receive an average of six million hostile probes a day.
Those probes come from both other nations and non-state actors, he said.
He added that cyber defense authorities need to be notified immediately when a cyber attack occurs.
Alexander voiced his support for legislation that would require private cybersecurity companies to report cyber attacks in real time.
He also recommended the Department of Homeland Security should create infrastructure to defend U.S. cyber interests, AFPS reports.
Alexander said Cyber Command could defend against attacks, the FBI could investigate them and intelligence agencies could gather information overseas to discover potential attacks.
Both the House and Senate have proposed several forms of cybersecurity legislation, including a bill that puts DHS in charge of cyber efforts regarding critical infrastructure.
