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Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has put a hold on the Trump administration\u2019s nomination of Sean Plankey<\/a> to head the federal government\u2019s top cybersecurity agency, citing a \u201cmulti-year cover up\u201d of security flaws at U.S. telecommunication companies.<\/p>\n Wyden said in remarks, seen by TechCrunch and confirmed by the senator\u2019s spokesperson, that he will block the nomination of Plankey to serve as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) until the agency agrees to release a 2022-dated unclassified report it commissioned detailing security weaknesses across the U.S. telecom network.<\/p>\n Senate rules allow for any serving senator to unilaterally and indefinitely hold up a federal nomination. As noted by Reuters, which was first to report Wyden\u2019s hold on Plankey\u2019s nomination, lawmakers often use nomination holds \u2014 or the threat of a hold \u2014 to demand concessions from the executive branch<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scott McConnell, a spokesperson for CISA, referred comment to the White House, which did not return TechCrunch\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n In remarks slated for Wednesday, Wyden \u2014 who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee \u2014 said his staff members were previously permitted to read the unclassified report but that efforts to publicly release its findings were refused. Wyden said he appealed to then-CISA Director Jen Easterly as well as then-President Joe Biden to release the report prior to the change in government.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wyden said the report is a \u201ctechnical document containing factual information about U.S. telecom security \u2026 as such, this report contains important factual information that the public has a right to see,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cCISA\u2019s multi-year cover up of the phone companies\u2019 negligent cybersecurity has real consequences,\u201d said Wyden, referring to the widespread hacking of U.S. phone companies by Chinese spies known as Salt Typhoon, revealed last year<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wyden said the hacks, which allowed the hackers to snoop on calls and text messages of senior American officials, were \u201cthe direct result of U.S. phone carriers\u2019 failure to follow cybersecurity best practices \u2026\u00a0 and federal agencies failing to hold these companies accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n Soon after the Salt Typhoon hacks, Wyden introduced legislation<\/a> aimed at requiring phone companies to implement specific cybersecurity requirements, perform annual testing, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe federal government still does not require U.S. phone companies to meet minimum cybersecurity standards,\u201d Wyden said in his remarks Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n