More money sought to fight cyberattacks in Senate

The Senate has a cybersecurity problem. Like many government offices, it's facing an increasing number of computer security threats.

To deal with the problem, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, Terrance Manier, is seeking a $1 million budget increase just to handle an increasing number of computer security threats.

"The amount of people trying to get to us is increasing," Manier said. "It's a continuing, constant threat....Our adversaries are playing chess with us."

The Senate receives about 18 phishing attacks per month and deals repeatedly with dangerous viruses and Trojan horses. And the numbers everywhere are only increasing: In 2009, Manier's office handled 1.6 billion network security events per month. So far in 2010, the average has climbed to 1.8 billion.

For more on the Senate's cybersecurity needs:
- see this Roll Call article

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