A major attack on our cyber systems could shut down our critical infrastructure - financial systems, communications systems, electric grids, power plants, water treatment centers, transportation systems and refineries - that allows us to run our economy and protect the safety of Americans.

Today, we face another major potential attack on our country. This attack is not a hijacked plane or bomb, although that remains a threat; rather, it is a cyber attack.

Let us learn from the lessons of September 11 and not wait for a major strike before we act. We must work together - Democrats and Republicans, Congress and the White House, government and the private sector - to make our country a safer and more prosperous place.

Dan Coats Quotes