Trio of South Dakota politicians set to have bigger roles on cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is set to get a decidedly South Dakotan bent in 2025.

Three Republican South Dakota politicians are in line to take on more prominent roles to influence cyber policy next year: Gov. Kristi Noem is president-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Homeland Security Department, Sen. Mike Rounds is poised to seize the gavel of a key cybersecurity subcommittee and John Thune will become Senate majority leader.

As president of Dakota State University, a school that has put a big focus on cybersecurity and tech, José-Marie Griffiths has worked with all three of them closely on cyber issues — testifying before their committees, consulting them on legislation, being appointed to national commissions by them and more.

She has a sense, then, of how the trio will approach their newly elevated roles. In an interview with CyberScoop, she said she expects China to get more attention from the South Dakota politicians, as well as agriculture, a more proactive approach to cybersecurity and a recognition of the need for cyber talent in the center of the country.

Thune and Rounds have sponsored cyber legislation in the Senate in the past, and as majority leader, Thune will be able to play a major role in what bills make it to the floor.

“Senator Thune is a little bit quieter and calmer than most,” Griffith said. “He doesn’t give an awful lot away. I think he will initially be focused on all of the Senate.”

But, she said, “I can imagine that with Governor Noem, if she’s confirmed, and with [Thune’s] position and with Senator Rounds and his role in cybersecurity, I would find it unusual if they didn’t see something emerge, some of those bills come up to the forefront.” 

Thune’s past tenure as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee gave him jurisdiction over and oversight of privacy and tech bills, making it a legislative focus of his. He was part of the long-stalled push to pass a data privacy measure, and sponsored a bill on artificial intelligence standards. 

“His Commerce [Committee] side was very much involved when we had the 5G issues that we were talking about,” Griffiths said. Thune this year discussed how that topic is a national security challenge amid competition with China.

Thune has also sponsored or co-sponsored cybersecurity-specific bills, including ones to boost the cyber defense of drones, create a cyber public awareness campaign, develop voluntary cyber guidelines, bolster the cyber workforce and aid small businesses on cybersecurity.

As the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Rounds has emphasized threats from China, Russia and new technologies, and has spoken about the need to improve both cyber offense and defense. He was the first senator to serve as chairman of that subcommittee.

He touted language he got into the annual defense policy bill last year, such as a provision authorizing the Defense Department to conduct cyber operations against Mexican drug cartels. Rounds also fought to keep the National Defense University’s College of Information and Cyberspace open. Separate from his subcommittee role, Rounds has sponsored or co-sponsored legislation on the cyber workforce and agricultural cybersecurity.

Given his background, Rounds tends to approach cyber as a national security and defense issue, Griffiths said.

Spokespeople for Rounds and Thune did not respond to requests for comment about their cybersecurity-focused priorities in the coming years.

Noem’s record on cybersecurity includes rejecting DHS grants, hyping the industry in her state and signing cyber legislation into law. Griffiths said Noem got up to speed on cyber during her time in Congress as a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

One problem Griffiths has talked about is the tendency for cyber professionals to flock to the coasts — Silicon Valley in the private sector, and Washington, D.C. to work for the government. Noem’s aware of that too, Griffiths said.

“She recognizes that we need to see more capabilities, or leverage more capabilities, in the center of the country,” Griffiths said. “I think that’s going to be interesting.”

South Dakota’s House representative, Republican Dusty Johnson, also sits on the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

“All four of them are very interested in the role of China,” Griffiths said. 

With agriculture being South Dakota’s top industry, cybersecurity in that area could also get more emphasis from the state’s elevated trio. “Agriculture is probably the one critical infrastructure that came rather late to the game of cybersecurity,” she said.

And they could emphasize “a more proactive approach to cybersecurity,” Griffiths said, rather than reacting to the big headlines about the most recent cyberattacks.