110 HRES 1456 IH: Supporting the goals and ideals of National U.S. House of Representatives 2008-09-17 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1456 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 17, 2008 Mr. Langevin (for himself, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. Wu, Mr. Gingrey, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, and Mr. King of New York) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology RESOLUTION Supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness Month and raising awareness and enhancing the state of computer security in the United States.

Whereas the use of the Internet in the United States, to communicate, conduct business, or generate commerce that benefits our overall economy, is ubiquitous; Whereas more than 200,000,000 adults use the Internet in the United States, 70 percent of whom connect through broadband connections, to communicate with family and friends, manage finances and pay bills, access educational opportunities, shop at home, participate in online entertainment and games, and stay informed of news and current events; Whereas the nearly 27,000,000 United States small businesses, which represent more than 99 percent of all United States employers and employ more than 50 percent of the private workforce, increasingly rely on the Internet to manage their businesses, expand their customer reach, and enhance the management of their supply chain; Whereas nearly 100 percent of public schools in the United States have Internet access to enhance our children’s education, with a significant percentage of instructional rooms connected to the Internet to enhance children's education by providing access to educational online content and encouraging self-initiative to discover research resources; Whereas almost 9 in 10 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17, or approximately 87 percent of all youth, use the Internet; Whereas the number of children who connect to the Internet at school continues to rise, and teaching children of all ages to become good cyber-citizens through safe, secure, and ethical online behaviors and practices is essential to protect their computer systems and potentially their physical safety; Whereas the growth and popularity of social networking Web sites have attracted millions of teenagers, providing access to a range of valuable services, making it all the more important to teach teenaged users how to avoid potential threats like cyber bullies, predators, and identity thieves they may come across while using such services; Whereas cyber security is a critical part of the Nation's overall homeland security; Whereas the Nation’s critical infrastructures and economy rely on the secure and reliable operation of information networks to support the Nation's financial services, energy, telecommunications, transportation, health care, and emergency response systems; Whereas cyber attacks have been attempted against the Nation and the United States economy, and the Department of Homeland Security's mission includes securing the homeland against cyber terrorism and other attacks; Whereas Internet users and information infrastructure owners and operators face an increasing threat of malicious crime and fraud 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 systems; Whereas coordination between the numerous Federal agencies involved in cyber security efforts, including the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, and others is essential to securing the Nation’s critical cyber infrastructure; Whereas millions of records containing personally identifiable information have been lost, stolen, or breached, threatening the security and financial well-being of United States citizens; Whereas consumers face significant financial and personal privacy losses due to personally identifiable information being more exposed to theft and fraud than ever before; 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 the need for enhanced computer security in the United States; Whereas the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace recommends a comprehensive national awareness program to empower all people in the United States, businesses, the general workforce, and the general population, to secure their own parts of cyberspace; and Whereas the Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the National Cyber Security Alliance and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, designates October 2008 as the fifth annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month which serves to educate the people of the United States about the importance of computer security: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)supports the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness Month; (2)congratulates the National Cyber Security Division, the National Cyber Security Alliance, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center on the fifth anniversary of the National Cyber Security Month; and (3)continues to 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.