Legislative Branch Activity

House Homeland Security Committee Legislation

According to House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies is planning to mark up legislation on Thursday, June 13 that would codify the cyber roles and responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as address other key aspects of cybersecurity. Although the committee has been working with stakeholders for several weeks on its draft legislation, the bill has not been formally introduced in the House. Chairman McCaul plans a full committee markup two weeks after the subcommittee markup.

House Intelligence Committee Legislation

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) introduced the Cyber Economic Espionage Accountability Act (H.R. 2281) last week, along with Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) that aims to punish nation-state cyber hackers that steal U.S. intellectual property. The bill would require the President to draft a list of foreign government officials responsible for the cyber espionage of U.S. intellectual property that would be available to the public. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) also introduced a companion bill (S. 1111) in the Senate.

Sen. Rockefeller Letter

Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) sent a letter to Acting Commerce Secretary Cameron Kerry in response to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s request for comments on incentives for the private sector to ultimately participate in the Cybersecurity Framework that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is tasked with developing as part of the President’s Executive Order (EO). In his letter, Sen. Rockefeller stated that the federal government should refrain from granting liability protections for companies to adopt the Cybersecurity Framework given that the private sector’s active role in the development of the standards should provide the “single strongest incentive” that is needed. According to the timelines articulated in the EO, a draft version of the Cybersecurity Framework is due in October and a final version should be released by February 2014.

This Week’s Hearings:

  • Wednesday, June 12: The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing titled “Cybersecurity: Preparing for and Responding to the Enduring Threat” at 2:00 pm. The hearing will feature Cyber Command Director General Keith Alexander, Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Rand Beers, NIST Director Patrick Gallagher, and Executive Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Richard McFeely.

Executive Branch Activity

DHS Science and Technology Directorate Research Conference

The Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning to hold a one-day conference in Manhattan on August 15 to highlight federally funded cybersecurity research that is ready to move into the commercial marketplace. Select research projects that are funded by DHS and the Department of Energy will be demonstrated for industry representatives and will focus specifically on executives within the financial sector.