House lawmakers passed a bill June 10 that would require the establishment of permanent “cyber incident teams” to help protect both federal agencies and the private sector from cyberattacks.

The Department of Homeland Security Cyber Incident Response Teams Act would create permanent teams of cybersecurity specialists within DHS that the government and industry could call on to help them recover from network breaches.

“When cyberattacks occur, immediate expertise is needed to mitigate damage and ensure organizations are restored,” the bill’s primary sponsor Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said. “Cyber incident response teams provide that expertise and function as our cyber first responders.”

The teams, which will be housed under the DHS’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, could also include cybersecurity experts from the private sector as members.

McCaul said the bill fosters “collaboration between the public and private sector to ensure that our nation can continue to adapt to the constant changes in the cyber landscape.”

Reps. John Katko, R-N.Y.; Jim Langevin, D-R.I.; John Ratcliffe, R-Texas; and Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., also sponsored the bill.

The House bill was introduced in February as companion legislature to the bipartisan DHS Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act introduced by Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

The Senate version of the bill was approved by Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in April.

Share:
More In Cyber