House lawmakers on Monday passed legislation that would codify into law the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber incident response teams that help protect federal networks and critical infrastructure from cyberattacks. Lawmakers passed the bill, sponsored by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), in a voice vote Monday afternoon. The legislation would authorize the “cyber hunt and incident response teams” at Homeland Security to help owners and operators of critical infrastructure respond to cyberattacks as well as provide strategies for mitigating cybersecurity risks.
The bill would also allow Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen to add cybersecurity specialists from the private sector to the response teams.
It would require that Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center — the office in which the response teams are housed — continually evaluate the response teams and report to Congress on their efforts at the end of each fiscal year for four years after the bill becomes law.
Full Article: House approves legislation to authorize Homeland Security cyber teams | TheHill.