Congress

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chair Gary Peters (D-MI) called on senior cybersecurity officials to answer questions about vulnerabilities in federal IT systems and supply chains, including last year’s SolarWinds hack. Peters convened a hearing to examine how American cyber defenses were unprepared for this attack, how federal agencies and departments worked to determine […]

Cyberspace Solarium Commission co-chair Senator Angus King (I-ME) is working with other lawmakers to draft legislation that would require private firms in the critical infrastructure sector to disclose data breaches to the government. “The commission will be recommending a breach notification law applying to critical infrastructure shortly, probably within the month,” King remarked. “There are some […]

The American Rescue Plan legislation narrowly approved by Congress includes about $2 billion for cybersecurity and IT modernization, rather than the $10 billion President Biden proposed. That includes $650 million for CISA for “cybersecurity risk mitigation,” $1 billion for GSA to spend on modernization projects, and $200 million for the U.S. Digital Service to hire […]

The DHS Industrial Control Systems Enhancement Act would give the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency more authority to protect critical systems against future attacks, but stops short of putting the agency in a regulatory role. Sponsored by a bipartisan group of House members, including House Homeland Security Committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Ranking Member […]

The increasing frequency and profile of ransomware incidents across the United States has created pressure on Congress to address the problem. The previous two-year session of Congress introduced 11 bills mentioning ransomware; only one – incorporated into the NDAA – was enacted. According to a committee aide, Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee, chaired by […]

A bipartisan group of representatives have introduced the Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2021, which would require the State Department to open a Bureau of International Cyberspace Policy to advocate for American ideals in cyberspace globally. The bureau was a proposal of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, of which sponsor Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI) was a member. […]

SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna, in advance of testimony to Congress about the company's role in recent breaches of federal agencies, has suggested allowing victims...

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, is asking the FBI and EPA for more information about the cybersecurity breach earlier this month, during which hackers tried to add dangerous amounts of lye to drinking water at a treatment facility in Florida. CISA reported that they gained access through a […]

The House Armed Services Committee has a new subcommittee this year: the Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI). Langevin says the committee will pursue an aggressive agenda focusing on cyber force structure, the newest combatant commands, artificial intelligence, cyber infrastructure, and supply chain safety. One of Langevin’s first […]

Worried about a “disjointed” response to what could be the biggest hack in American history, Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) –...