Cybersecurity Policy Report, Cyber Diplomacy Needed to Protect U.S. Tech Sector, Nominee Tells Senators, (Apr 16, 2026)
Foreign adversaries seek to undermine U.S. strength in technology development through cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property and coercive trade practices, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was told today by Adam Cassady, the Trump administration’s nominee to lead the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy.
“The digital infrastructure that underpins the global economy—from subsea cables and secure telecommunications networks to data centers, semiconductors, and satellites—is now as strategically significant as sea lanes, airspace, and energy routes were in earlier eras,” Mr. Cassady told the committee at today’s nomination hearing.
“Protecting and strengthening that infrastructure is central to preserving American power and prosperity,” he said in his written testimony.
“Our competitors are investing heavily, seeking to steal intellectual property, censor or limit free speech, dominate supply chains, and influence global regulatory standards in ways that advantage their systems and disadvantage ours,” Mr. Cassady warned.
“If digital infrastructure is built on insecure foundations, if trusted vendors are displaced by coercive actors, or if global standards are written without respect for our values, we risk ceding strategic ground. That is unacceptable,” he said.
“Our diplomacy seeks to keep the global digital economy open for business, ensuring that the innovative engine of the global economy is protected—not constrained by discriminatory regulation, arbitrary data localization requirements, coercive trade practices, or insecure infrastructure dependencies. We must build coalitions of trusted partners who share our commitment to secure, resilient, and open digital ecosystems,” he added.
Mr. Cassady, currently deputy head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, appeared alongside four other nominees at whom most of the committee members’ questions were addressed.
Mr. Cassady was nominated in March to be the State Department’s ambassador at large–cyberspace and digital policy, a Senate-confirmed role established by the 2022 Cyber Diplomacy Act (CPR, March 3).
News: FederalLegislation DataSecurity