DHS cyber incident response teams closer to becoming permanently codified

The House approved a bill on Monday that would make the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber incident response teams a permanent fixture within the agency. The DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act would codify the agency’s “cyber hunt and incident response teams,” which provide support to organizations running critical infrastructure. The teams often respond to cyber incidents and help organizations mitigate cybersecurity risks. “Everyone is a target,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the bill’s sponsor, on the House floor. “Our enemies don’t just attack individuals and their devices. They also put America’s critical infrastructure sectors in their crosshairs, endangering all aspects of civilian life.” The teams referenced by the bill currently operate in DHS’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC). The bill also would authorize the secretary of Homeland Security to include cybersecurity specialists from the private sector in those response teams. “By fostering this new collaboration between government and private sector, […]

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​Bill to create DHS cyber agency faces a tough road in the Senate​

The bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to create​ a new ​cybersecurity ​agency inside the Department of Homeland Security ​faces a tough climb in the Senate​ despite bipartisan support, observers and staffers say​. H.R.3359, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2017, passed by voice vote​ ​Monday​ — moving the bill to the upper chamber. In brief floor remarks, Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, called the bill a “compromise” that fellow Texan, House Homeland Security Committee​ ​Chairman ​Michael McCaul, had worked on with “dogged determination.” In a statement, newly sworn-in DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen also praised McCaul’s “tireless work” on the proposal. And well she might: It’s his second attempt — with bipartisan support from Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. — to create an operational cybersecurity agency within DHS. The first bill never made it to the House floor last Congress because of turf fights: Nine other House committees […]

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