[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 446 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 446

 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness 
 Month and raising awareness and enhancing the state of cyber security 
                         in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 24, 2011

    Mr. Langevin (for himself, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of 
    California, Mr. Stivers, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Ruppersberger, Ms. 
   Richardson, Mrs. Myrick, Ms. Speier, and Ms. Clarke of New York) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                   on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness 
 Month and raising awareness and enhancing the state of cyber security 
                         in the United States.

Whereas the use of the Internet in the United States, to communicate, conduct 
        business, or generate commerce that benefits the overall United States 
        economy, is ubiquitous;
Whereas the United States technological knowhow, innovation, and 
        entrepreneurship are all digitally connected and the pace of innovation 
        has accelerated, so too have the methods to attack the Nation's economic 
        prosperity and security, spawning new, high-tech challenges, from 
        identity theft to corporate hacking to cyber bullying;
Whereas many people use the Internet in the United States 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 United States small businesses, which employ a significant fraction 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 the cost of cyber crime to private businesses rose 56 percent from 2010, 
        costing organizations on average $5,900,000 and that small businesses 
        incur a significantly higher per capital cost than larger companies 
        according to a report by the Ponemon Institute;
Whereas nearly all public schools in the United States have Internet access to 
        enhance 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 the number of children who connect to the Internet 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 has attracted 
        millions of teenagers, providing access to a range of valuable services, 
        making it all the more important to teach young 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 United States national security 
        and economic security;
Whereas to prepare the United States Armed Forces for emerging cyber threats, 
        the Department of Defense developed a Cyber Strategy that is focused on 
        treating cyberspace as an operational domain to organize, train, and 
        equip forces, employing new defense operating concepts, partnering with 
        United States Government departments, Federal agencies, and the private 
        sector to enable a whole-of-government approach, building robust 
        international partnerships to strengthen collective cybersecurity, and 
        fully growing cyber work force talents and leveraging new technological 
        innovations;
Whereas the United States critical infrastructures and economy rely on the 
        secure and reliable operation of information networks to support the 
        United States Armed Forces, civilian government, energy, 
        telecommunications, financial services, transportation, health care, and 
        emergency response systems;
Whereas Internet users and information infrastructure owners and operators face 
        an increasing threat of cyber-crime and fraud attacks through viruses, 
        worms, Trojans, and malicious programs such as spyware, adware, hacking 
        tools, and password stealers, that are frequent and fast in propagation, 
        are costly to repair, and may disable entire systems;
Whereas the intellectual property, including proprietary information, 
        copyrights, patents, trademarks, and related information, of business, 
        academic institutions, government, and individuals are vital to the 
        economic security of the United States;
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 cyber security and the need for enhanced cyber security in 
        the United States;
Whereas coordination between the numerous Federal agencies involved in cyber 
        security efforts is essential to securing the cyber infrastructure of 
        the United States;
Whereas the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, published in February 2003, 
        recommends a comprehensive national awareness program to empower all 
        people in the United States, including businesses, the general 
        workforce, and the general population, to secure their own parts of 
        cyberspace;
Whereas the White House's Cyberspace Policy Review, published in May 2009, 
        recommends that the United States Government initiate a national public 
        awareness and education campaign to promote cybersecurity;
Whereas ``STOP. THINK. CONNECT.'' is the national cybersecurity awareness 
        campaign founded and led by the National Cyber Security Alliance, the 
        Anti-Phishing Working Group as a public private partnership with the 
        Department of Homeland Security, and a coalition of private companies, 
        nonprofits, and government organizations to help all digital citizens 
        stay safer and more secure online;
Whereas the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) led by the 
        National Institute of Standards and Technology is the coordinating body 
        for the Federal Government to establish a sustainable, operational, and 
        continually improving cybersecurity education program to enhance the 
        Nation's cybersecurity and support the development of a professional 
        cyber security workforce and cyber-capable citizens;
Whereas the United States Cyber Challenge initiative is working to identify 
        10,000 of the Nation's best and brightest to fill the ranks of 
        cybersecurity professionals where their skills can be of the greatest 
        value to the Nation; and
Whereas the National Cyber Security Alliance, the Multi-State Information 
        Sharing and Analysis Center, the Department of Homeland Security, and 
        other organizations working to improve cyber security in the United 
        States have designated October 2011 as the eighth annual National Cyber 
        Security Awareness Month which serves to educate the people of the 
        United States about the importance of cyber security: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Cyber 
        Security Awareness Month;
            (2) continues to work with Federal agencies, businesses, 
        educational institutions, and other organizations to enhance 
        the state of cybersecurity in the United States;
            (3) commends the work of the National Initiative for 
        Cybersecurity Education and all the Federal agencies, 
        nonprofits, educational institutions, businesses, and other 
        organizations that support this effort;
            (4) recognizes ``STOP. THINK. CONNECT.'' as the national 
        cybersecurity awareness campaign to educate people of the 
        United States and help all citizens stay safer and more secure 
        online; and
            (5) congratulates the National Cyber Security Alliance, the 
        Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the 
        Department of Homeland Security, and other organizations 
        working to improve cyber security in the United States on the 
        eighth anniversary of the National Cyber Security Awareness 
        Month.
                                 <all>