[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 572 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 572

 Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to raising awareness 
and enhancing the state of computer security in the United States, and 
 supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness 
                                 Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 19, 2006

   Mr. Burns (for himself and Ms. Cantwell) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
                           and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to raising awareness 
and enhancing the state of computer security in the United States, and 
 supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness 
                                 Month.

Whereas over 205,000,000 Americans use the Internet in the United States, 
        including over 84,000,000 home-users through broadband connections, to 
        communicate with family and friends, manage their finances, pay their 
        bills, improve their education, shop at home, and read about current 
        events;
Whereas the approximately 26,000,000 small businesses in the United States, who 
        represent 99.7 percent of all United States employers and employ 50 
        percent of the private work force, increasingly rely on the Internet to 
        manage their businesses, expand their customer reach, and enhance their 
        connection with their supply chain;
Whereas, according to the Department of Education, nearly 100 percent of public 
        schools in the United States have Internet access, with approximately 93 
        percent of instructional classrooms connected to the Internet;
Whereas having access to the Internet in the classroom enhances the education of 
        our children by providing access to educational online content and 
        encouraging responsible self-initiative to discover research resources;
Whereas, according to the Pew Institute, almost 9 in 10 teenagers between the 
        ages of 12 and 17, or 87 percent of all youth (approximately 21,000,000 
        people) use the Internet, and 78 percent (or about 16,000,000 students) 
        say they use the Internet at school;
Whereas teen use of the Internet at school has grown 45 percent since 2000, and 
        educating children of all ages about safe, secure, and ethical practices 
        will not only protect their computer systems, but will also protect the 
        physical safety of our children, and help them become good cyber 
        citizens;
Whereas the growth and popularity of social networking websites have attracted 
        millions of teenagers, providing them with a range of valuable services;
Whereas teens should be taught how to avoid potential threats like cyber 
        bullies, online predators, and identity thieves that they may encounter 
        while using cyber services;
Whereas the critical infrastructure of our Nation relies on the secure and 
        reliable operation of information networks to support our Nation's 
        financial services, energy, telecommunications, transportation, health 
        care, and emergency response systems;
Whereas cyber security is a critical part of the overall homeland security of 
        our Nation, in particular the control systems that control and monitor 
        our drinking water, dams, and other water management systems, our 
        electricity grids, oil and gas supplies, and pipeline distribution 
        networks, our transportation systems, and other critical manufacturing 
        processes;
Whereas terrorists and others with malicious motives have demonstrated an 
        interest in utilizing cyber means to attack our Nation;
Whereas the mission of the Department of Homeland Security includes securing the 
        homeland against cyber terrorism and other attacks;
Whereas Internet users and our information infrastructure face an increasing 
        threat of malicious attacks through viruses, worms, Trojans, and 
        unwanted programs such as spyware, adware, hacking tools, and password 
        stealers, that are frequent and fast in propagation, are costly to 
        repair, and disable entire computer systems;
Whereas, according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, since February 2005, over 
        90,000,000 records containing personally-identifiable information have 
        been breached, and the overall increase in serious data breaches in both 
        the private and public sectors are threatening the security and well-
        being of the citizens of the United States;
Whereas consumers face significant financial and personal privacy losses due to 
        identity theft and fraud, as reported in over 686,000 consumer 
        complaints in 2005 received by the Consumer Sentinel database operated 
        by the Federal Trade Commission;
Whereas Internet-related complaints in 2005 accounted for 46 percent of all 
        reported fraud complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission;
Whereas the total amount of monetary losses for such Internet-related complaints 
        exceeded $680,000,000, with a median loss of $350 per complaint;
Whereas the youth of our Nation face increasing threats online such as 
        inappropriate content or child predators;
Whereas, according to the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, 34 
        percent of teens are exposed to unwanted sexually explicit material on 
        the Internet, and 1 in 7 children report having been approached by an 
        online child predator;
Whereas national organizations, policymakers, government agencies, private 
        sector companies, nonprofit institutions, schools, academic 
        organizations, consumers, and the media recognize the need to increase 
        awareness of computer security and enhance the level of computer and 
        national security in the United States;
Whereas the mission of National Cyber Security Alliance is to increase awareness 
        of cyber security practices and technologies to home-users, students, 
        teachers, and small businesses through educational activities, online 
        resources and checklists, and public service announcements; and
Whereas the National Cyber Security Alliance has designated October as National 
        Cyber Security Awareness Month, which will provide an opportunity to 
        educate the people of the United States about computer security: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Cyber 
        Security Awareness Month; and
            (2) will work with Federal agencies, national 
        organizations, businesses, and educational institutions to 
        encourage the development and implementation of existing and 
        future computer security voluntary consensus standards, 
        practices, and technologies in order to enhance the state of 
        computer security in the United States.
                                 <all>