Secure Federal File Sharing Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 4098, the Secure Federal File Sharing Act. As Chairwoman of the Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology, I regularly deal with cybersecurity issues related to Federal civilian agencies and am happy to see this effort moving forward.
The Secure Federal File sharing Act directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance that would prohibit the use of peer-to-peer software on Federal computer systems, on home computers of government employees who telecommute, and by Federal contractors. This bill will help improve our government's cyber-security in a number of ways.
First, and most importantly, this bill reduces the risk to our government computer systems of downloading malicious software that could infect other systems within the government. It is well documented that peer-to-peer applications are regularly used by hackers to incorporate spyware, viruses, Trojan horses, or worms onto the downloader's computer. Not only does this expose a person's personal information to exploitation, but could put sensitive information about our government resources into unfriendly hands.
Secondly, peer-to-peer software is frequently used to illegally download software or documents that are otherwise protected by intellectual property laws. Allowing Federal employees to use this software to download pirated materials not only puts them at risk of prosecution, but puts the Federal government in a precarious position of having passively supported illegal acts.
Finally, peer-to-peer software is costly to the U.S. taxpayer. Because of the high risk nature of the software, its use only increases the amount we must spend to secure our computer systems from the cyber attacks it inevitably leads to.
This legislation helps close a security hole among Federal civilian agencies, and I urge my colleagues to join me in passing House Resolution 4098.
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