Dhs Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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I rise in support of H.R. 5074, the DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2018.

Mr. Speaker, at the outset, let me again support the chairman's comments about Austin, Texas. We talked a little bit about it last week in a hearing and, since that hearing, another incident has occurred. Terrorism, whether it is domestic or whatever, has no place in this country. I look forward to the capture of the person or persons who are committing these heinous acts in Austin, as well as providing whatever resources might go toward any future apprehensions.

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Department of Homeland Security issued a technical alert with the FBI on the Russian Government's efforts to use cyber tools to target our critical infrastructure--including our energy, water, aviation, and commercial facilities, critical infrastructure sectors.

DHS and the FBI released the alert amidst ongoing discussions about the urgent need to better secure our election infrastructure against Russian targeting and as the sophisticated cyber capabilities of Iran, North Korea, China, and nonstate actors continue to evolve. H.R. 5074, the DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2018, would codify DHS' Hunt and Incident Response Teams into law.

The Department deploys Hunt and Incident Response Teams to owners and operators of critical infrastructure, upon request and free of charge after a cybersecurity incident. These DHS teams provide intrusion analysis, identify malicious actors, analyze malicious tools, and provide mitigation assistance strategies. They are DHS' ``boots on the ground'' in cyber incident response and, as such, play an integral role in improving the cybersecurity posture of critical infrastructure owners and operators.

I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Mr. Speaker, the President's decision last week to finally issue sanctions in response to meddling in the 2016 election was long overdue. Though it was a positive move, I believe it will do little to deter the Russian Government from using cyber tools to target our critical infrastructure.

The Trump administration has yet to put any meaningful strategy in place to address ongoing efforts by the Russian Government--or any other bad actor, for that matter--to undermine the stability of the U.S. economy and government infrastructure in cyberspace. We must ensure that organizations have access to high-quality cyber incident response capabilities. H.R. 5074 would do just that, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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