A group of United States representatives introduced the CISA Leadership Act this week, a bill that proposes to codify a five year term for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) director and reaffirm the position as presidentially appointed, but Senate confirmed.
While CISA has assumed a role as the nation’s lead on matters of cybersecurity and communications infrastructure, its leadership currently exists in a void — while a director has been appointed, the role lacks a set term. The legislation would do so, and in the process, its supporters hope to grant it more stability.
“The current threat landscape is ever changing and expanding to include a multitude of cyber risks,” U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation Subcommittee, as well as a bill sponsor, said. “We must evolve along with it to be best prepared to mitigate these threats. With cyber attacks on the rise, CISA, the lead federal civilian cybersecurity agency for the United States, needs consistent and stable leadership presiding over our nation’s cyber preparedness. This bipartisan bill will remove any uncertainty from the CISA Director role so that the Director can focus squarely on strengthening our cyber posture.”
Garbarino was joined in this effort by U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), John Katko (R-NY), Yvette Clark (D-NY), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI).
“Cybersecurity isn’t a partisan issue,” Thompson and Clarke said in a joint statement. “As the cyber threats facing the nation continue to evolve, we need steady leadership at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. We are proud to work with Ranking Member Garbarino on this important legislation and look forward to working with him to get it across the finish line.”
The last few years have brought a major uptick in prominent cyber attacks on the U.S., both in the public and private sector. These have included attacks on the Colonial Pipeline, JBS Foods and the IT management software company SolarWinds, among many others, some with more wide reaching ramifications than others.