[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1263 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1263

Directing the Chief Administrative Officer and the Sergeant at Arms of 
 the House of Representatives to take timely action to ensure that all 
   Members, committees, and offices of the House are alerted of the 
dangers of electronic attacks on the computers and information systems 
used in carrying out their official duties and are fully briefed on how 
to protect themselves, their official records, and their communications 
                   from electronic security breaches.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 11, 2008

              Mr. Wolf submitted the following resolution;

                             June 11, 2008

    By motion of the House, referred to the Committee on the House 
                             Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Directing the Chief Administrative Officer and the Sergeant at Arms of 
 the House of Representatives to take timely action to ensure that all 
   Members, committees, and offices of the House are alerted of the 
dangers of electronic attacks on the computers and information systems 
used in carrying out their official duties and are fully briefed on how 
to protect themselves, their official records, and their communications 
                   from electronic security breaches.

Whereas beginning in August 2006, several of the computers used by Congressman 
        Frank R. Wolf, a Representative from the Commonwealth of Virginia, in 
        carrying out his official and representational duties were compromised 
        by an outside source;
Whereas the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, acting 
        through House Information Resources (HIR), alerted Congressman Wolf to 
        this incident and cleaned and returned the compromised computers to the 
        Congressman's office;
Whereas since this attack, it has been discovered that computers in the offices 
        of other Members, as well as in the office of at least one committee of 
        the House, have been similarly compromised;
Whereas in subsequent meetings with HIR and officials from the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, the outside source responsible for these incidents was 
        revealed to be located in the People's Republic of China;
Whereas according to HIR, when Members use Blackberry devices or cell phones 
        while traveling overseas, especially in nations in which access to 
        information is tightly controlled by the government, they are at risk of 
        having their conversations or other personal information recorded or 
        collected without authorization;
Whereas HIR, the FBI, and the House Security Office briefed the affected offices 
        on the security breaches that have occurred, and have done a good job in 
        attempting to protect other offices of the House from similar threats; 
        and
Whereas it is nevertheless not clear that all Members, committees, and other 
        offices of the House are aware of the existing threats against the 
        security and confidentiality of the electronic records of their offices 
        or their overseas electronic communications, nor is it clear that 
        Members and other House personnel have been fully briefed on how to 
        protect themselves, their official records, and their communications 
        from electronic security breaches: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Chief Administrative Officer and the Sergeant at 
Arms of the House of Representatives, in consultation with the Director 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, should take timely action to 
ensure that all Members, committees, and offices of the House are 
alerted of the dangers of electronic attacks on the computers and 
information systems used in carrying out their official duties and are 
fully briefed on how to protect themselves, their official records, and 
their communications from electronic security breaches.
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