Ruppersberger: “About Time” U.S. Cyber Command at Ft. Meade Joins Fight Against ISIS

(Washington, DC) –  Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger today issued the following statement in response to media reports that the U.S. Cyber Command has joined the fight against the Islamic State:

“It’s about time we unleash the full cyber capabilities of our US military on ISIS. I could not be more proud of the work being done at Fort Meade – in my district – to help bring them down.

As we all know, ISIS continues to terrorize innocent civilians around the world. They are a unique threat because they are not only barbaric, but very well-organized and well-funded. We must use every resource available to take them out once and for all.

Those resources include bombs and missiles but also state-of-the-art cyber weapons that can cripple ISIS’ communications infrastructure without the risk of collateral damage.  As the Secretary of Defense recently acknowledged, the Cyber Command was established at Fort Meade six years ago for this very purpose.  

Cyberspace is the new battle frontier. ISIS itself employs hackers who have even commandeered the social media accounts of the U.S. Central Command.  I proudly endorse these efforts and all efforts to strengthen the skills of our cyber warriors.”