Why Certain Cybersecurity Provisions Made it into the NDAA and Others Didn’t
A number of measures in the version of the NDAA that passed the House in July did not appear in the Senate version of the bill, and did not survive the conference to reconcile the two before final passage of the bill. Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI) pushed for the creation of a public-private collaborative environment […]
Defense Bill Set to Pass with State Cybersecurity Programs
The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act contains multiple items aimed at states’ cybersecurity efforts, including one that formalizes and expands the role that National Guard units play in cyber operations, including when they can be called upon to respond to an incident and how they collaborate with civilian agencies. The NDAA would direct the Departments […]
With NDAA Exclusion, Proponents of FedRAMP Modification Are Down But Not Out
One strongly touted measure that will not be included in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act is the codification of the GSA’s FedRAMP cloud security certification program, which would have made it more broadly applicable throughout the federal government. The provision was included in the House version of the NDAA but the amendment stalled in […]
IoT Update: President Trump Signs IoT Cybersecurity Act of 2020 into Law
On Friday, December 4, 2020, President Trump signed the bipartisan Internet of Things (“IoT”) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 into law. The IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act empowers the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create cybersecurity standards for internet-connected devices purchased and used by federal agencies. After the President signed the bill, one of […]
Four Things to Know about the “Internet of Things” Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020
The Internet of Things (“IoT”) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 (S. 734, H.R. 1668) is about to be signed into law. Billions of devices...
Congress Set to Establish White House National Cyber Director, Enact Other Solarium Commission Recommendations
As part of negotiations on the NDAA, Congress is close to creating a post within the White House to advise the president on cybersecurity and coordinate the federal government’s related work. This position would be confirmed by the Senate and be outside the National Security Council, unlike the similar position eliminated by the Trump Administration. […]
Lawmakers Pressure FCC to Move Forward With Unfunded Supply Chain Security Order
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) have promised the FCC an appropriation of $1-2 billion for a program to reimburse smaller telecommunications providers for the cost of removing untrusted equipment from Huawei and other sources from their systems. The Secure and Trusted Communications Network Act – […]
After Years of Work, Congress Passes ‘Internet of Things’ Cybersecurity Bill — And It’s...
Before Thanksgiving, Congress passed legislation aimed at enhancing the safeguards of internet-connected devices. The bill is also a major step toward the creation of new vulnerability disclosure policies that would help organizations work with security researchers to fix software flaws. The measure would direct NIST to establish baseline security requirements for any IoT manufacturer that […]
Congress Needs to Step up In Ransomware Fight, House Cybersecurity Panel Chair Says
Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL), the new chair of the House Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on cybersecurity, says that federal lawmakers need to do more to help organizations – especially state and local governments – protect themselves against ransomware. “It is not realistic to tell state and local governments, hospitals or small businesses to simply to […]
Peters Calls on White House to Protect Health Care Systems from Cyber Threats
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), ranking member on the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, has asked the White House to take more aggressive actions to shield the country’s health care systems from state-sponsored cyber threats. In his remarks, Peter citeD attacks sponsored by the Chinese, Russian, and North Korean governments on U.S. health care […]