[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6735 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6735


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 26, 2018

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
      To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a 
  vulnerability disclosure policy for Department of Homeland Security 
               internet websites, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public-Private Cybersecurity 
Cooperation Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY DISCLOSURE OF SECURITY 
              VULNERABILITIES.

    (a) Vulnerability Disclosure Policy.--The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall establish a policy applicable to individuals, 
organizations, and companies that report security vulnerabilities on 
appropriate information systems of Department of Homeland Security. 
Such policy shall include each of the following:
            (1) The appropriate information systems of the Department 
        that individuals, organizations, and companies may use to 
        discover and report security vulnerabilities on appropriate 
        information systems.
            (2) The conditions and criteria under which individuals, 
        organizations, and companies may operate to discover and report 
        security vulnerabilities.
            (3) How individuals, organizations, and companies may 
        disclose to the Department security vulnerabilities discovered 
        on appropriate information systems of the Department.
            (4) The ways in which the Department may communicate with 
        individuals, organizations, and companies that report security 
        vulnerabilities.
            (5) The process the Department shall use for public 
        disclosure of reported security vulnerabilities.
    (b) Remediation Process.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
develop a process for the Department of Homeland Security to address 
the mitigation or remediation of the security vulnerabilities reported 
through the policy developed in subsection (a).
    (c) Consultation.--In developing the security vulnerability 
disclosure policy under subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall consult with each of the following:
            (1) The Attorney General regarding how to ensure that 
        individuals, organizations, and companies that comply with the 
        requirements of the policy developed under subsection (a) are 
        protected from prosecution under section 1030 of title 18, 
        United States Code, civil lawsuits, and similar provisions of 
        law with respect to specific activities authorized under the 
        policy.
            (2) The Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of 
        General Services regarding lessons that may be applied from 
        existing vulnerability disclosure policies.
            (3) Non-governmental security researchers.
    (d) Public Availability.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
make the policy developed under subsection (a) publicly available.
    (e) Submission to Congress.--
            (1) Disclosure policy and remediation process.--Not later 
        than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to Congress a copy 
        of the policy required under subsection (a) and the remediation 
        process required under subsection (b).
            (2) Report and briefing.--
                    (A) Report.--Not later than one year after 
                establishing the policy required under subsection (a), 
                the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to 
                Congress a report on such policy and the remediation 
                process required under subsection (b).
                    (B) Annual briefings.--One year after the date of 
                the submission of the report under subparagraph (A), 
                and annually thereafter for each of the next three 
                years, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide 
                to Congress a briefing on the policy required under 
                subsection (a) and the process required under 
                subsection (b).
                    (C) Matters for inclusion.--The report required 
                under subparagraph (A) and the briefings required under 
                subparagraph (B) shall include each of the following 
                with respect to the policy required under subsection 
                (a) and the process required under subsection (b) for 
                the period covered by the report or briefing, as the 
                case may be:
                            (i) The number of unique security 
                        vulnerabilities reported.
                            (ii) The number of previously unknown 
                        security vulnerabilities mitigated or 
                        remediated.
                            (iii) The number of unique individuals, 
                        organizations, and companies that reported 
                        security vulnerabilities.
                            (iv) The average length of time between the 
                        reporting of security vulnerabilities and 
                        mitigation or remediation of such 
                        vulnerabilities.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``security vulnerability'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 102(17) of the Cybersecurity 
        Information Sharing Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. 1501(17)), in 
        information technology.
            (2) The term ``information system'' has the meaning given 
        that term by section 3502(12) of title 44, United States Code.
            (3) The term ``appropriate information system'' means an 
        information system that the Secretary of Homeland Security 
        selects for inclusion under the vulnerability disclosure policy 
        required by subsection (a).

            Passed the House of Representatives September 25, 2018.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.