Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications capabilities of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF).

Highlights:

• Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications capabilities of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF) (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that ARF is comprised of U.S.-flagged vessels that provide at-sea laboratories where oceanographic scientists, educators, and students research and learn about marine science (Sec. 2).

• Requires the plan to include assessments of the following, including (Sec. 2):

• Telecommunications and networking needs of ARF, consistent with typical scientific missions;

• Cybersecurity needs appropriate for the operation of ARF vessels and their specific research functions;

• The costs necessary to meet these needs;

• The time required to implement necessary upgrades; and

• Opportunities for the adoption of common solutions or consortial licensing agreements, or for the centralization of cybersecurity, telecommunications, or data management at a single facility. 

• Requires that the plan must also include a spending plan for the NSF, the Office of Naval Research, nonfederal owners of ARF vessels, and users of the vessels to cover identified costs (Sec. 2).

• Requires that NSF must consider, as appropriate, the network capabilities necessary to meet mission needs (e.g., to upload data to cloud-based or shoreside servers), international standards and guidance for information security, and requirements for controlled unclassified or classified information (Sec. 2).

• Requires that the plan be provided to Congress within 18 months of the bill's enactment, and the NSF must later report to Congress on the plan's implementation (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text