Warning that the cyber threats to the United States are not going away, and in fact continue to grow, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) has urged the Senate to take action.
To make his case, McCaul pointed to three separate bills the House has already advanced on the issue: the Department of Homeland Security Reauthorization Act of 2017, H.R. 2825; the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2017, H.R. 3359; and the DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2018, H.R. 5074.
H.R. 2825 marks the first comprehensive reauthorization of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), eliminating a number of excess programs therein while reasserting Congress’s authority over them. It also demands the DHS prioritize assistance to requesting state and local election officials. H.R. 3359 would establish a stand-alone organization within DHS to prioritize the protection of information technology networks and infrastructure. Lastly, H.R. 5074 would codify and modernize DHS’s cyber incident response teams to better assist and support asset owners and operators.
“With each passing day, the cyber threats facing our homeland continue to grow,” McCaul said. “FBI Director Christopher Wray said last week, ‘This threat is not going away. As I have said consistently, Russia attempted to interfere with the last election and continues to engage in malign influence operations to this day.’ Russia is not our friend, and we cannot allow anyone to undermine the confidence in our electoral process.”
The Senate has yet to approve the aforementioned measures aimed at better protecting U.S. digital networks, however.