Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Competition Act advances out of committee with bipartisan support

In a recent vote, the Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Competition Act advanced its way out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, leaving the Senate to consider its push to prepare federal employees for cybersecurity threats.

“By ensuring our nation has a highly trained and talented cybersecurity workforce, we can better prepare for cybersecurity threats and prevent attacks,” U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and an author of the bill, said. “This bipartisan bill will strengthen the President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition to strengthen our cybersecurity defenses against foreign adversaries.”

The President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition was created in 2019 as a way to train, identify and reward cybersecurity talent within the federal workforce. It is led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Under the new legislation, the competition would be expanded to include categories on operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS). Those areas are critical for infrastructure sectors, both in factories and utilities alike, by helping to distribute power across states, pump water from reservoirs and assemble vehicles in factories. They have also been a target for hackers in recent years.

“The United States prides itself in being a champion in cyber security innovation, with many technical advancements coming out of Indiana. I’m proudly cosponsoring this bill that will enhance our national cybersecurity training competition and ultimately protect American technology from cyber-attacks from around the world,” U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) said.