House passes cybersecurity legislation

Last week, the House of Representatives passed three bills aimed at strengthening efforts to combat cyber attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure. These efforts include increased information sharing, advancing cyber technologies, and improving the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) cybersecurity workforce.

H.R. 3696, the National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection (NCCIP) Act of 2014, establishes the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center as a federal civilian information sharing interface to provide shared situational awareness and share cyber threat information among federal, state, and local government entities, as well as private entities. According to Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), the NCCIP Act “will help us responsibly coordinate our cyber defenses and strengthen their civilian leadership while protecting Americans’ privacy and civil liberties.”

H.R. 2952, the Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement (CIRDA) Act of 2014, directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to relay to Congress a strategic plan for research and development of cybersecurity and physical security technologies. The CIRDA Act also calls for reports on DHS’s use of public-private research consortiums.

H.R. 3107, the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act, requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop classifications for cyber expertise used in the department and make those classifications available to other federal agencies. The bill also requires the Secretary to conduct an annual assessment of the readiness and capacity of the DHS workforce to meet its cybersecurity mission.

For more information about this legislation, please follow the links below.
H.R. 3696, National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2014
H.R. 2952, Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act of 2014
H.R. 3107, Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act
House Passes Three Cyber Bills, FCW