Following recommendations made by the Attorney General’s recent Cyber Digital Task Force report, a group of U.S. senators introduced Tuesday a pair of bills intended to safeguard the U.S. election infrastructure from future cybercrimes.
The bills, the International Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act, were introduced by U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal
(D-CN).
Under the International Cybercrime Prevention Act, prosecutors would be able to shut down botnet computer networks used for illegal purposes. Their prosecution efforts would also be bolstered by creating a new criminal violation for those that hack critical infrastructure and the prohibition of criminals selling access to botnets. The Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act would officially make it a federal crime to hack voting systems used in federal elections.
“Russian interference in the 2016 election exposed just a small piece of our adversaries’ cyber capabilities,” Graham said. “Seeking to undermine American democracy and our standing on the world stage, hostile nations like Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea work every day to develop new cyber weapons to deploy against the United States. Both pieces of legislation provide the Department of Justice urgently needed tools to shut down the digital infrastructure used by cybercriminals and to prosecute those who hack our critical infrastructure.”
The senators are urging Congress to enforce swift action on their legislative efforts as midterm elections are rapidly approaching.
“With the midterm elections in less than 100 days, Congress cannot afford to wait,” Blumenthal said. “Our bills show that securing the nation’s elections and cyber infrastructure can be a bipartisan cause, and I urge my colleagues to quickly pass this long overdue measure.”