[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.
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