America Must Have Iron-Clad, 21st Century Cyber Safeguards

Press Release

In light of recent reports of computer hackers in China targeting email accounts of senior U.S. officials, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced today that he is introducing the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2011, a bill that is also being introduced by Congressmen Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL) in the House of Representatives.

The bill invests in research and development to strengthen cyber security for federal networks and better enable the government, universities and the private sector to collaborate and easily share information.

"Espionage, corporate sabotage, or attacks against this country must be taken seriously, even if these crimes are committed using a computer," said Menendez. "We cannot sit by while our oil refineries, our stock exchanges, and our federal government are repeatedly infiltrated and compromised. That's why I'm introducing this bill and working with my colleagues in the House to ensure we develop the world's highest caliber cyber security systems and develop iron-clad, 21st century network security safeguards."

"All of our critical infrastructure is tied to cyber networks whether it be our utilities, power grids, financial institutions, or air traffic control system. Virtually every sector is vulnerable. I hope as with 9/11 we don't turn a blind eye and have a denial of service attack before we address this issue," said Rep. McCaul, who co-chaired the Center for Strategic and International Studies' (CSIS) Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th President, which presented the report Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency to President Obama detailing recommendations for securing the country's government networks and critical infrastructure.

"It's been more than a year since the House passed this bill by an overwhelming margin," said Rep. Lipinski, the Research and Science Education Subcommittee Ranking Member, who introduced the act in the 111th Congress. "Since then, the problem of cybercrime has only increased. In the past few months alone we've seen Sony's PlayStation Network and its users' data compromised; disturbing breaches at computer security, oil, and financial companies; and reports that hackers are increasingly targeting smartphones. Cybercrime evolves as quickly as technology itself -- Congress should recognize that reality and pass the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act as soon as possible to prevent further losses to individuals, businesses, and the economy as a whole."

Earlier this year in February, officials from oil refineries and NASDAQ confirmed that some of their computer systems were repeatedly hacked into by outsiders.

The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act incorporates several key recommendations from the CSIS Commission on Cyber Security report.

· Improves Coordination in government: Gives the National Institutes of Standards and Technology the authority to set security standards for federal computer systems and develop cybersecurity standards for agencies to follow.

· Improves Coordination outside of government: Creates a task force to coordinate research and development efforts between the federal government, universities, and the private sector.

· Improves R&D: Establishes cybersecurity research and development grant programs.

· Improves quality of cyber professionals: Creates scholarship programs at NSF that can be repaid with federal service. Requires the President to conduct an assessment of cybersecurity workforce needs across the Federal government.

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