Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) has introduced legislation to conduct a study of the recent cybersecurity breach on the Office of Personnel Management’s computer systems in order to determine an appropriate response to the government’s apparent security problems.
Wilson’s bill (H.R. 2708) would direct the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Secretary of Defense to carry out the study to determine standards that can be used to measure the damage of cyber incidents for the purposes of determining the response to such incidents and include a method for quantifying the damage caused to affected computers, systems, and devices.
The complete findings of the study would be due no later than 360 days after the date of enactment of the bill.
Speaking on the legislation, Wilson said:
Recent cyberattacks targeting personal data of American citizens and U.S. government websites make it clear—cyber is a new domain of warfare. These cyberattacks are a sober reminder that Congress, and all government agencies, need to work together to better protect public and private networks. The complicated nature of cyber defense means we need a clear standard of measurement for assessing the damage of attacks to our citizens and affected systems. This bill will be the first of many steps in building a comprehensive cyber defense system.
For more information on the OPM data breach, see:
