[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 96 (Monday, June 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H4367-H4369]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DHS CYBER INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAMS ACT OF 2019
Miss RICE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 1158) to authorize cyber incident response teams at
the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1158
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 ``DHS Cyber Incident Response
Teams Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CYBER INCIDENT
RESPONSE TEAMS.
(a) In General.--Section 2209 of the Homeland Security Act
of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 148) is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)(1)(B)(iv), by inserting ``, including
cybersecurity specialists'' after ``entities'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (f) through (m) as
subsections (g) through (n), respectively;
(3) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new
subsection (f):
``(f) Cyber Incident Response Teams.--
``(1) In general.--The Center shall maintain cyber hunt and
incident response teams for the purpose of providing, as
appropriate and upon request, assistance, including the
following:
``(A) Assistance to asset owners and operators in restoring
services following a cyber incident.
``(B) The identification of cybersecurity risk and
unauthorized cyber activity.
``(C) Mitigation strategies to prevent, deter, and protect
against cybersecurity risks.
``(D) Recommendations to asset owners and operators for
improving overall network and control systems security to
lower cybersecurity risks, and other recommendations, as
appropriate.
``(E) Such other capabilities as the Under Secretary
appointed under section 103(a)(1)(H) determines appropriate.
``(2) Cybersecurity specialists.--The Secretary may include
cybersecurity specialists from the private sector on cyber
hunt and incident response teams.
``(3) Associated metrics.--The Center shall continually
assess and evaluate the cyber incident response teams and
their operations using robust metrics.
``(4) Submittal of information to congress.--Upon the
conclusion of each of the first four fiscal years ending
after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the
Center shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives and the Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee of the Senate, information on
the metrics used for evaluation and assessment of the cyber
incident response teams and operations pursuant to paragraph
(3), including the resources and staffing of such cyber
incident response teams. Such information shall include each
of the following for the period covered by the report:
``(A) The total number of incident response requests
received.
``(B) The number of incident response tickets opened.
``(C) All interagency staffing of incident response teams.
``(D) The interagency collaborations established to support
incident response teams.''; and
(4) in subsection (g), as redesignated by paragraph (2)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, or any team or
activity of the Center,'' after ``Center''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, or any team or
activity of the Center,'' after ``Center''.
(b) No Additional Funds Authorized.--No additional funds
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the
requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts
otherwise authorized to be appropriated.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
New York (Miss Rice) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Crenshaw) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.
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{time} 1530
General Leave
Miss RICE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and to include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from New York?
There was no objection.
Miss RICE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, every day, hackers grow bolder, more sophisticated, and
more ambitious. In 2016, the Russian Government carried out an
unprecedented attack on our election infrastructure; and last year, the
Department of Homeland Security and FBI revealed that the Russians were
exploiting cyber tools to target critical infrastructure in our energy,
water, aviation, and commercial sectors.
Other foreign adversaries have taken note of Russia's activity and
are similarly leveraging their cyber capabilities to advance their
interests and undermine our own. We already know that Chinese actors
have been targeting American companies and even our transportation
systems with cutting-edge cyberattacks. In recent years, we have also
seen an increase in Iranian cyberattacks on banks, businesses, and
government agencies.
Meanwhile, local governments across the country, from Atlanta to
Baltimore to Albany, have been devastated by costly and disruptive
ransomware attacks.
The only way for us to effectively mitigate and respond to these
attacks is by leveraging the full power and capabilities of the Federal
Government.
H.R. 1158, the DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2019, would
do just that by authorizing hunt and incident response teams.
Housed within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency,
these teams deploy to owners and operators of critical infrastructure
after a cybersecurity incident. They provide intrusion analysis,
identify malicious actors, analyze malicious tools, and provide
mitigation assistance strategies. They are our boots on the ground in
the event of a cybersecurity incident and are critical to improving the
cybersecurity capabilities of critical infrastructure operators.
Additionally, H.R. 1158 authorizes DHS to leverage private-sector
capabilities to address these growing and evolving threats.
It is important that DHS use every measure available to confront the
changing landscape of cyber threats. Passing this bill, authored by our
former chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Mike McCaul, will
help us accomplish that mission.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my House colleagues to support this legislation,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 1158, the DHS Cyber Incident Response
Teams Act of 2019.
H.R. 1158 authorizes cyber hunt and incident response teams to assist
operators, free of cost, to identify unauthorized cyber activity while
promoting the proper strategies to deter future threats.
This legislation helps us stay vigilant in our efforts to respond to
cyber incidents in both the public and private sectors as threats to
our digital networks continue to evolve.
I support this important bill, introduced by my colleague, Ranking
Member McCaul, and I commend him for his leadership on this issue. I
urge all Members to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Miss RICE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I am
prepared to close after the gentleman from Texas closes.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. McCaul).
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R.
1158, the DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2019. I want to
thank the gentleman from Texas for managing this on the floor. I want
to thank the gentlewoman from New York for her comments.
Every day, we are facing threats from Russia, China, Iran, North
Korea, and other malicious actors trying to hit not only our Federal
Government networks, but our private sector.
During my time as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee,
I prioritized ensuring that our Nation had the capacity to respond to
cyber threats and protect our critical infrastructure. I am proud to
say that we have made important strides in recent years, including
standing up the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within
DHS.
However, we must press forward with innovative solutions to respond
to a constantly changing threat landscape. To that end, my bill
authorizes CISA's ability to maintain cyber incident response teams to
assist against cyberattacks on the government and private sector. These
teams not only help respond to cyberattacks, but also help mitigate the
potential destruction they cause and restore damaged networks after.
Additionally, my bill allows for leading industry specialists to
serve on these teams with the government and DHS to provide outside
expertise. It really provides a force multiplier, and I think it is a
very important step forward in the right direction. It ensures that we
have the best and brightest from both the public and private sector
working in unison to secure our critical infrastructure and vital
national networks.
These response teams are a force multiplier, enhancing our
cybersecurity workforce and helping protect our interconnected world.
This bill is critical to keeping our digital networks and
communications systems resilient and protected.
I would like to also thank Congressmen Langevin, Ratcliffe,
Ruppersberger, and Katko for joining me in introducing this bill.
This bill actually passed the House last Congress, and I sure hope we
can get it passed by the Senate and signed into law, because it is
urgently needed by the Department to protect the United States from
these critical cyberattacks.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Miss RICE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
It is hard to predict the future, but there is one thing I know: Our
adversaries will continue to hone their hacking capabilities to advance
their interests and undermine ours.
Critical infrastructure owners and operators must have access to the
incident response capabilities necessary to protect their networks.
H.R. 1158, which was approved unanimously in committee, will help
ensure that DHS can continue to partner effectively with the private
sector to protect critical infrastructure.
Before I close, I would like to note that a version of this bill
passed the House by a voice vote in the 115th Congress. I urge my
colleagues to support H.R. 1158.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1158,
``DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2019.''
H.R. 1158 codifies DHS' National Cybersecurity and Communications
Coordination Center (NCCIC) Hunt and Incident Response Teams which the
Department currently deploys to provide intrusion analysis, identify
malicious actors, analyze malicious tools, and provide mitigation
assistance to entities requesting assistance after a cybersecurity
incident.
H.R. 1158 also requires the NCCIC to submit information to Congress
regarding metrics for the teams, at the end of the first four years
after enactment.
In 2017, a malware named NotPetya was released from the hacked
servers of a Ukrainian software firm servicing a management program
used by some of world's largest corporations, causing an estimated $10
billion in damage.
When this bill passes, it will assess and mitigate situations of
cyberterrorism that undermine our nation's security and civil liberties
such as our national elections.
Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated every day.
[[Page H4369]]
Due to the vulnerability of corporations' operations, we need
extensive measures to identify, analyze, and alleviate threats of
cyberattacks.
Affected asset owners and operators will receive critical information
to improve their overall network and control systems security to lower
cybersecurity risks, and other recommendations.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1158
to protect our nation from malicious attempts of cyberterrorism that
strategically weaken our democracy.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from New York (Miss Rice) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1158, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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