Congressman Mac Thornberry

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Cybersecurity

“Cybersecurity attacks are a direct threat to our economy and job creation, as well as our national security."

Congressman Thornberry Discusses Cybersecurity on Washington Journal
on the Eleventh Anniversary of September 11, 2001.

Cyber is deeply ingrained in virtually every facet of our lives. We are very dependent upon it, which means that we are very vulnerable to disruptions and attacks. Cyber threats pose a significant risk to our national security as well as to our economy and jobs.

At least 85 percent of what must be protected is owned and operated by the private sector. Government must tread carefully in this area or risk damaging one of our greatest strengths — dynamic, innovate companies and businesses that are the key to our economy and to cybersecurity advances.

House Cybersecurity Task Force

House Speaker John Boehner asked me at the start of the 112^th Congress to lead an initiative on cybersecurity to focus the efforts of Congress to combat the growing national security and economic threat.

The Task Force represented a broad cross-section of the House Republican Conference and the committees of jurisdiction on the issue of cybersecurity. In addition to myself, Members serving in the group included Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Mike Coffman (R-CO), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Robert Hurt (R-VA), Bob Latta (R-OH), Dan Lungren (R-CA), Mike McCaul (R-TX), Tim Murphy (R-PA), Steve Stivers (R-OH), and Lee Terry (R-NE).

The Task Force formally delivered its report to the Speaker and Majority Leader in October of 2011. The report was an agreement between nine House committees with jurisdiction over cybersecurity issues that could serve as a framework for moving forward with cybersecurity legislation in the House.

House Floor Action

During the week of April 23^rd, 2012, the House passed four cyber bills by strong majorities, thanks to work by Members on both sides of the aisle. These bills do not solve all of the problems in cyberspace, and they are not intended to. They are, however, important first steps toward making the country more secure.

H.R. 2096 - Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2011- Improves cybersecurity research and development at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The bill also promotes improved cybersecurity awareness and education through NIST.

H.R. 3834 - Advancing America's Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act of 2012 - Reauthorizes and improves the NITRD program, the primary mechanism by which the federal government coordinates its investments in unclassified networking and information technology R&D, including cybersecurity R&D.

H.R. 4257 - Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2012 - Updates the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 to increase the protection of federal networks. Moves the focus of FISMA from a checklist exercise to an increased focus on automated and continuous monitoring of agency information systems.

H.R. 3523 - Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act - Increases needed information sharing by allowing the federal government to provide classified intelligence information to private entities to use to protect their own networks. The bill also allows the private sector to voluntarily share cybersecurity threat information with other private entities and/or voluntarily share with the federal government.

Next Steps

Now it is up to the Senate to act. This issue is too important to let attempts to find the perfect bill prevent us from taking good, significant steps in the right direction. There is much that everyone agrees on. We should at least do those things and agree to continue to work on issues where we may have differences. Our country's security and economy depend on taking action now.

u.s. congressman Mac Thornberry.com serving the people of the 13th district of texas

Cybersecurity

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