Sen. Mark Warner Mark Robert WarnerIntelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Overnight Defense: Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing l Air Force reveals it secretly built and flew new fighter jet l Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to 'forever chemicals' House approves bill to secure internet-connected federal devices against cyber threats MORE (D-Va.) on Tuesday strongly urged the State Department to take measures to protect itself and embassies against cyberattacks in light of increasing tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoHillicon Valley: FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden | Treasury Dept. sanctions Iranian government-backed hackers Treasury Dept. sanctions Iranian government-backed hackers The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Pence lauds Harris as 'experienced debater'; Trump, Biden diverge over debate prep MORE, Warner expressed “deep concern” around the State Department’s ability to defend itself against potential Iranian cyberattacks launched in response to the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. He also requested that Pompeo produce a plan for how his agency will defend against cyberattacks.

Warner, who serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, pointed to past breaches of State Department systems — including an attack in 2014 by Russian hackers which involved the National Security Agency “fighting for control” of the agency’s network — as evidence of potential cyber vulnerabilities that Iran could exploit.

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The senator also referenced a report compiled by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General in 2019, which found that a hiring freeze on the agency in 2018 was detrimental to the State Department’s overall cybersecurity posture.

Warner asked that Pompeo respond by Jan. 31 to a series of questions around how the State Department has addressed hiring more cyber and information technology personnel since the 2019 report was released. He also asked for details about how the department is training employees to defend against potential cyberattacks.

“Given Iran’s technical capabilities and threats to retaliate, as well as the State Department’s systemic organizational and functional problems addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities, I ask you to answer the following questions on how the State Department will address a surge of offensive cyber activity by Iran,” Warner wrote to Pompeo.

A spokesperson for the State Department told The Hill that “the Department routinely responds to requests by Congressional oversight committees and Members of Congress. We always work closely and cooperatively with Member and committee offices and seek to be as timely and responsive as possible to their requests for information. As a general matter, we don’t comment publicly on our congressional engagements."

Concerns on Capitol Hill around the potential for Iran to attack the U.S. in cyberspace have spiked since the death of Soleimani, particularly as Iranian leadership has vowed to retaliate against the U.S.

Iran — alongside Russia, China and North Korea — is considered to be a major cyber adversary to the U.S., and has long been evaluated by the intelligence community as having the potential to target and cause damaging impacts to critical American infrastructure.

-Updated at 3:45 p.m. to include a response from the State Department.