Legislative package introduced in House to bolster US cybersecurity

The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a legislative package this week that provides Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel with the resources to combat global cyber security threat.

The legislative package – called the SECURE Technology Act – combines three bills previously introduced in both the House and Senate that seek to keep the nation’s digital infrastructure safe from cyberattacks.

“Cybersecurity is national security. Not a day goes by that our critical infrastructure isn’t targeted by bad actors from every corner of the Globe,” Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), a former CIA undercover officer who serves on the House Homeland Security and Intelligence Committees, said. “The SECURE Technology Act ensures that our federal agencies can better mitigate the risks to our networks and supply chains. I’m proud that my colleagues and I came together to support this bipartisan initiative to keep Americans safe across the finish line, and I’ll continue to do all that I can to deliver real results back home.”

This bipartisan legislative package seeks to create guidelines for addressing security vulnerabilities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); establishes a bug bounty program at DHS to incentivize personnel to find and fix potential holes in their system; establishes a process for the federal government to address critical supply chain risks.

This package includes the Public-Private Cybersecurity Cooperation Act, the Hack the Department of Homeland Security of 2018, and the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018.