Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill Tuesday which she argues would allow the government to respond to cyberattacks more quickly.
The legislation would “clarify” that the Homeland Security Department is not required to provide advance notice to private companies before it removes tainted software from federal computer systems, thus ensuring protective action is not unnecessarily delayed. DHS handles the protection of the federal “.gov” domain used by entities under the executive branch.
“We’re seeing more and more attacks on federal computer systems by foreign agents, and we need to make sure we have all the tools and authorities necessary to block those attacks,” Feinstein said in a statement. “By clarifying what actions the Secretary of Homeland Security can take, we allow the department to act quickly in response to cyber threats.”
Cyberattacks against the U.S. government are on the rise.
The number jumped from 5,500 in 2006 to more than 77,000 in 2015, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Feinstein’s bill would build upon the Federal Information Security Modernization Act, two versions of which were passed in 2002 and 2014, which sought to better allow the government to shield federal systems from cyber threats.
