A bill that aims to improve intelligence sharing capabilities amongst U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies was recently unanimously approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The legislation, titled the DHS Data Framework Act, was authored by U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), a former undercover officer for the Central Intelligence Agency.
Specifically, Hurd’s bill would codify DHS efforts to develop a data framework that incorporates all DHS component agency data related to homeland security, terrorist information, weapons of mass destruction, and national intelligence into one unified system.
According to a release from Hurd, the change would help alleviate the currently costly, cumbersome process of searching and vetting information against multiple databases with different logins, passwords, and legal restrictions.
“The DHS Data Framework Act will allow DHS personnel to both share and vet information in a more efficient manner without undermining the security of sensitive information,” Hurd said. “DHS officials need to be able to quickly and safely share information in today’s fast-paced environment, and this bill provides the framework for that to happen without compromising our nation’s secrets.”
The framework created as a result of the bill will also be replicated on a classified network to allow for more efficient, secure analysis, and vetting of law enforcement data and intelligence data.