US lawmakers bring in legislation to enable Congressional defenders to receive timely cybersecurity information
A group of U.S. senators has introduced bipartisan legislation that ensures sharing of cybersecurity information between operational cybersecurity staff in the executive branch and the Senate and House of Representatives. The legislation will ensure that cybersecurity defenders in Congress are able to work collaboratively and directly with cybersecurity defenders in the executive branch, and will require regular reporting to Congress on the status of implementation.
The bill titled ‘Intragovernmental Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act’ would ensure the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives receive direct, timely, and actionable cybersecurity information from the executive branch.
The legislation has been introduced by four U.S. Senators, including Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri and ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee, and Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
According to the provisions of the bill, “Not later than 210 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and periodically thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall brief the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives on the status of the implementation of the agreements.”
“As we have recently seen, cyberattacks are increasing against our critical infrastructure as well as the federal government. Unfortunately, some of the cybersecurity professionals in Congress have faced lengthy delays in getting information on cybersecurity threats from the Executive Branch. That should not be the case,” Portman said in a media statement on Tuesday.
“Our cyber adversaries move quickly and do not distinguish between branches of government—we need a unified and coordinated defense,” according to Portman. “That is why we have introduced this bipartisan legislation requiring the Department of Homeland Security to enter cybersecurity information-sharing agreements with the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate and Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives,” he added.
“Cybersecurity threats against our government require a timely, coordinated response. Yet too often a lack of communication between the Department of Homeland Security and Congress leaves us vulnerable to damaging cyberattacks,” according to Klobuchar. “This bipartisan legislation will better protect us against cyberattacks by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to increase cybersecurity information sharing with Congress.”
“The federal government faces more cyberattacks from more directions than ever before,” Blunt said. “This legislation will help ensure Congress’s cybersecurity professionals have access to the timely and sensitive information they need to better protect the House and Senate from the alarming rise in cyberattacks.”
“Foreign adversaries, like the Russian government, and cybercriminals continue to target our nation’s most essential public and private networks. That is why our different branches of government must work together to bolster the security of all federal systems, including those in Congress, that store a considerable amount of sensitive information,” according to Peters. “This commonsense, bipartisan bill will make sure that professionals in charge of securing House and Senate networks are working closely with our nation’s lead cybersecurity agencies to address online threats.”
Last month, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security introduced bipartisan supported legislation, ‘DHS Industrial Control Systems Enhancement Act of 2021,’ in a critical step that could help to solidify the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) lead role in protecting the critical infrastructure in the U.S., especially industrial control systems (ICS), from cyber threats.
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