Rep. Green introduces bill to strengthen CISA

U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) introduced legislation to strengthen the ability of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to address cyberthreats on Federal government systems.

The bill, called the Protecting Federal Networks Act, gives CISA the authority to address threats and vulnerabilities on the .gov domain. It also encourages critical information-sharing across agencies and clarifying CISA’s mandate to protect America’s cyberinfrastructure.

“I’m proud to introduce this bill strengthening our Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency by empowering our agents to hunt for cyber threats on the .gov domain,” Green said. “America’s cyberinfrastructure is under constant attack from foreign adversaries like China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia, and our Federal government experiences countless cyber assaults from malicious actors each day. My Protecting Federal Networks Act gives CISA the authority it needs to search for threats on our Federal systems and quickly mitigate those threats and vulnerabilities. Congress cannot wait—we must act now to protect America’s networks and ensure the security of our Nation’s cyberinfrastructure.”

CISA was established in 2018 via the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018. It is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversight. Christopher Krebs is the director of CISA.