Congressman Sestak Votes To Improve Our Nation's Cybersecurity

Press Release

"I was proud to support this vital legislation," said Congressman Sestak. "As a former Admiral, and the first director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's anti-terrorism unit, I have had no higher priority throughout my career than protecting our homeland. While information technology has evolved rapidly over the last decade, leading to markedly increased connectivity, this level of connectivity and our dependence on information technology has also increased the vulnerability of these systems. Reports of cyber criminals and other actors accessing sensitive information and disrupting services continue to emerge, heightening concerns over the adequacy of our cybersecurity measures in both the government and private sector.

"This bill addresses some of our vulnerabilities in cyberspace, the newest terrain in modern warfare. It diminishes the ability of nation states, criminals, and even terrorist groups to threaten our security and way of life, and I was proud to vote for it."

Passage of this bill marks the Congressman's latest accomplishment in this field. Last year, the Congressman submitted, and the House passed, an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill that would commission two Department of Defense studies to analyze alternative models of joint acquisition and funding of inter-connected cyberspace systems by the military. He also authored an article outlining such a proposal during his work on the House Armed Services Committee Panel on Roles and Missions in 2008.

Bill Summary

The bill improves our Nation's cybersecurity by:

Developing a skilled cybersecurity workforce.

Coordinating and prioritizing the Federal research and development (R&D) portfolio.

Improving the transfer of cybersecurity technologies to the marketplace.

Promoting cybersecurity education and awareness for the general public.

Coordinating U.S. representation in the development of international cybersecurity technical standards.

Specifically, H.R. 4061

Requires Federal agencies participating in the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program to develop, update, and implement a strategic plan guiding the overall direction of Federal cybersecurity and information assurance R&D.

Requires the President to conduct an assessment of cybersecurity workforce needs across the Federal government and formally authorizes the Scholarship for Service program.

Reauthorizes cybersecurity research and cybersecurity workforce and traineeship programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to convene a university-industry task force to explore mechanisms for carrying out collaborative R&D.

Requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop and implement a plan to coordinate U.S. representation in the development of international cybersecurity technical standards.

Requires NIST to develop and implement a cybersecurity awareness and education program for the dissemination of user-friendly cybersecurity best practices and technical standards.

Support for H.R. 4061

Business Software Alliance

Association for Computing Machinery

Computing Research Association

Sun Microsystems

Source