Co-chair asks for state agency briefings after FBI director's China remarks and federal web removals

Co-chair Representative Nancy Nathanson told the Joint Committee on Information Management and Technology she is concerned about national cyber threats after recent public remarks attributed to former FBI Director Christopher Wray and about federal web content that has been removed or altered since the presidential transition.

"I take this very seriously. I'm very concerned," Nathanson said while raising the FBI director’s public comments and asking for agency follow-up. She asked staff to coordinate a response from state agencies and, if available, the FBI’s local cyber-crimes office.

Committee staff member Sean McSpadden said he had already reached out to the state chief information officer and to the Portland office of the FBI’s cyber-crimes division and expected to hear back about availability for future meetings. "I have already done some outreach, to the state chief information officer, certainly, to, the Portland, office, the cyber crimes, division, of the FBI," McSpadden said.

Nathanson also described recent reporting that some federal websites or pages have been taken down or replaced and asked what the practical impacts would be on Oregon agencies that link to federal resources for program delivery. Staff said they requested a broken-link report from the state CIO’s office and that larger agencies (Department of Transportation, Oregon Health Authority, Department of Human Services) would produce similar checks; staff said they expected those reports within days and in time for the committee’s next meeting.

Committee members asked whether broken federal links could affect service delivery — for example, by breaking agency web pages that link to federal program details — and staff said the immediate steps are to inventory those broken links and identify impacts on programs and agency operations. The committee did not take formal action on the subject at the meeting but directed staff to arrange briefings and to bring back reports so members can evaluate any operational or policy responses.