[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 114 (Thursday, September 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S9640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 115--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH 
   RESPECT TO RAISING AWARENESS AND ENHANCING THE STATE OF COMPUTER 
 SECURITY IN THE UNITED STATES, AND SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF 
                NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS MONTH

  Mr. BURNS (for himself and Ms. Cantwell) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation:

       Whereas over 205,000,000 Americans use the Internet in the 
     United States, including over 84,000,000 home-users through 
     broadband connections, to communicate with family and 
     friends, manage their finances, pay their bills, improve 
     their education, shop at home, and read about current events;
       Whereas the approximately 26,000,000 small businesses in 
     the United States, who represent 99.7 percent of all United 
     States employers and employ 50 percent of the private work 
     force, increasingly rely on the Internet to manage their 
     businesses, expand their customer reach, and enhance their 
     connection with their supply chain;
       Whereas, according to the Department of Education, nearly 
     100 percent of public schools in the United States have 
     Internet access, with approximately 93 percent of 
     instructional classrooms connected to the Internet;
       Whereas having access to the Internet in the classroom 
     enhances the education of our children by providing access to 
     educational online content and encouraging responsible self-
     initiative to discover research resources;
       Whereas, according to the Pew Institute, almost 9 in 10 
     teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17, or 87 percent of all 
     youth (approximately 21,000,000 people) use the Internet, and 
     78 percent (or about 16,000,000 students) say they use the 
     Internet at school;
       Whereas teen use of the Internet at school has grown 45 
     percent since 2000, and educating children of all ages about 
     safe, secure, and ethical practices will not only protect 
     their computer systems, but will also protect the physical 
     safety of our children, and help them become good cyber 
     citizens;
       Whereas the growth and popularity of social networking 
     websites have attracted millions of teenagers, providing them 
     with a range of valuable services;
       Whereas teens should be taught how to avoid potential 
     threats like cyber bullies, online predators, and identity 
     thieves that they may encounter while using cyber services;
       Whereas the critical infrastructure of our Nation relies on 
     the secure and reliable operation of information networks to 
     support our Nation's financial services, energy, 
     telecommunications, transportation, health care, and 
     emergency response systems;
       Whereas cyber security is a critical part of the overall 
     homeland security of our Nation, in particular the control 
     systems that control and monitor our drinking water, dams, 
     and other water management systems, our electricity grids, 
     oil and gas supplies, and pipeline distribution networks, our 
     transportation systems, and other critical manufacturing 
     processes;
       Whereas terrorists and others with malicious motives have 
     demonstrated an interest in utilizing cyber means to attack 
     our Nation;
       Whereas the mission of the Department of Homeland Security 
     includes securing the homeland against cyber terrorism and 
     other attacks;
       Whereas Internet users and our information infrastructure 
     face an increasing threat of malicious 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 computer systems;
       Whereas, according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, since 
     February 2005, over 90,000,000 records containing personally-
     identifiable information have been breached, and the overall 
     increase in serious data breaches in both the private and 
     public sectors are threatening the security and well-being of 
     the citizens of the United States;
       Whereas consumers face significant financial and personal 
     privacy losses due to identity theft and fraud, as reported 
     in over 686,000 consumer complaints in 2005 received by the 
     Consumer Sentinel database operated by the Federal Trade 
     Commission;
       Whereas Internet-related complaints in 2005 accounted for 
     46 percent of all reported fraud complaints received by the 
     Federal Trade Commission;
       Whereas the total amount of monetary losses for such 
     Internet-related complaints exceeded $680,000,000, with a 
     median loss of $350 per complaint;
       Whereas the youth of our Nation face increasing threats 
     online such as inappropriate content or child predators;
       Whereas, according to the National Center For Missing and 
     Exploited Children, 34 percent of teens are exposed to 
     unwanted sexually explicit material on the Internet, and 1 in 
     7 children report having been approached by an online child 
     predator;
       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 enhance the level of computer and national security in 
     the United States;
       Whereas the mission of National Cyber Security Alliance is 
     to increase awareness of cyber security practices and 
     technologies to home-users, students, teachers, and small 
     businesses through educational activities, online resources 
     and checklists, and public service announcements; and
       Whereas the National Cyber Security Alliance has designated 
     October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which 
     will provide an opportunity to educate the people of the 
     United States about computer security: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Cyber 
     Security Awareness Month; and
       (2) will 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.

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