Cyberspace Solarium Commission to Continue Work as Nonprofit Organization

The Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a government body that was established in 2019 and expired in mid-December 2021, plans to continue its national security work as a nonprofit organization.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, co-chair of the CSC, told reporters that he is “cautiously optimistic” that “Solarium 2.0” will make progress in 2022, FCW reported.

“All the low-hanging fruit has been picked. So only the very difficult issues remain,” Gallagher said, adding that he expects Solarium 2.0 to explore new issues.

CSC Executive Director Mark Montgomery said that Solarium 2.0 will also work on solutions that were not fully formed before, including ways to address challenges in the federal cyber workforce.

Montgomery added that the new organization’s professional staff will be made up of its existing commissioners, excluding Chris Inglis, who currently serves as the White House’s inaugural national cyber director.

The creation of the national cyber director role is considered one of the big wins of the commission. In his position, Inglis is responsible for leading the federal government’s response to cybersecurity threats and for executing critical cyber policy and strategy.

Gallagher added that one of the commission’s biggest achievements is getting U.S. government leaders to care about cybersecurity in the first place.

CSC’s other accomplishments include pushing Congress to enact new cybersecurity-related legislation and the president to enact cybersecurity executive orders.

Laura Brent, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said that Solarium 2.0 will likely be focused on deterrence and methods for measuring the effectiveness of any cyber policy.