II 111th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1438 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 10, 2009 Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To express the sense of Congress on improving cybersecurity globally, to require the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress on improving cybersecurity, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Fostering a Global Response to Cyber Attacks Act.

2.

Findings

Congress makes the following findings: (1)For more than a decade, reports have described the increasing vulnerability of the United States to cyberattacks, including a recent leading think tank report that stated, Cyber attack joins terrorism and weapons of mass destruction as one of the new, asymmetric threats that put the U.S. and its allies at risk.. (2)There have been numerous cyberattacks against United States intelligence and military targets, resulting in the Department of Defense spending more than $100,000,000 in the first 6 months of 2009 to repair damage to networks caused by cyberattacks. (3)Cyberattacks cost the economy of the United States billions of dollars annually. (4)A growing array of state and non-state actors, such as terrorists and international criminal groups, are targeting United States citizens, United States commerce, and the information infrastructure of the United States, including the Internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers in critical industries, to steal, exploit, and potentially disrupt or destroy information. (5)Cyber exploitation activity has grown more sophisticated, more targeted, and more serious over the past year and is expected to increase as advances in technology continue to increasingly underpin the society of the United States. (6)Relevant international cybersecurity agreements focus only on issues relating to cyber crime and common operating standards and have not been signed by certain countries from which cyberattacks may be launched.

3.

Sense of Congress on improving cybersecurity globally

It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should work with the governments of foreign countries— (1)to develop comprehensive norms and cooperative activities for international engagement to improve cybersecurity; (2)to encourage international cooperation in improving cybersecurity on a global basis; and (3)to develop appropriate safeguards for the protection of privacy, freedom of speech, and commercial transactions to be included in any agreements or other activities designed to safeguard cyberspace.

4.

Report on improving cybersecurity

Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report describing any actions taken by the United States to work with the governments of foreign countries to improve cybersecurity, as described in section 3.