Senate Committee To Act On Cybersecurity

Three cybersecurity bills will soon get votes before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. The most important one appears to be the DHS Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act. The bill requires the Dept. Of Homeland Security to maintain cyber hunt and incident response teams designed to defend against cyber attacks on federal agencies and the private sector. This bill was approved by the committee last year, but did not get a vote by the full Senate. Senator Kamala Harris of California, a committee member who is running for president, says that election security will be her main cyber-related priority, specifically the Secure Elections Act, which failed to pass last year but will be reintroduced soon. Another bill, The Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act, will be marked up by the committee. It creates a system to rotate cyber professionals through various agencies to address gaps in the workforce. It was approved by the committee last year, but never went before the full Senate.