From: National Journal
Bill now heads to President’s desk to be signed into law
WASHINGTON- Today, the House of Representatives passed critical legislation that would help federal agencies thwart cyber attacks. The bill, which updates a 12-year-old law to meet the federal government’s current cybersecurity needs, establishes real-time monitoring of federal computer networks, and enhances oversight of federal data breaches, now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, introduced by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Ranking Member Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), would update the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 to better protect federal agencies from cyber attacks. The bill would better delineate the roles and responsibilities assigned to agencies charged with securing the “.gov” domain, move agencies away from the current paperwork-heavy security review processes, and place greater management and oversight attention on data breaches at federal agencies. The bill is more than overdue: cyber attacks reported by federal agencies have increased by nearly 680 percent over the past six years, according to a recent study by the Government Accountability Office.
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