National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Chairman McCaul in crafting the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act. I would also like to thank Ranking Members Richmond and Thompson for their hard work on this issue; and a special thank you to the Homeland Security staff, who worked incredibly hard to bring this important bill to the floor today.

Mr. Chairman, for years now, the private sector has been on the front lines in trying to guard against potentially devastating cyber attacks.

Just 2 months ago, one of the Nation's largest health insurance providers, Anthem, suffered a devastating cyber attack that compromised the personal information and health records of more than 80 million Americans.

The consequences of that breach hit home for many of those Americans just a week ago, on tax day, when thousands of them tried to file their tax returns, only to see them be rejected because cyber criminals had used their information to file false tax returns.

Mr. Chairman, attacks like these serve as a wake-up call to all Americans and provide clear evidence that our cyber adversaries have the upper hand. The consequences will get even worse if we fail to tackle this issue head on because even greater and more frightening threats exist, ones that extend to the critical infrastructure that support our very way of life.

I am talking about cyber attacks against the networks which control our bridges, our dams, our power grids, rails, and even our water supply. Attacks on this critical infrastructure have the potential to produce sustained blackouts, halt air traffic, shut off fuel supplies, or, even worse, contaminate the air, food, and water that we need to survive.

These scenarios paint a picture of economic crisis and physical chaos that are, unfortunately, all too real and all too possible right now.

Mr. Chairman, 85 percent of our Nation's critical infrastructure is controlled by the private sector, not by the government, a fact which underscores the reality that America's security, when it comes to defending against cyber attacks, largely depends on the security of our private networks.

The simple truth is that many in the private sector can't defend their networks or our critical infrastructure against these threats.

H.R. 1731 provides a solution for the rapid sharing of important cyber threat information to minimize or, in some cases, prevent the cyber attacks from being successful.

Through the Department of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity Communication and Integration Center, or NCCIC, this bill will facilitate the sharing of cyber threat indicators between the private sector entities and between the private sector and the Federal Government.

With carefully crafted liability protections, private entities would finally be able to share cyber threat indicators with their private sector counterparts through the NCCIC without fear of liability.

The sharing of these cyber threat indicators, or, more specifically, the tools, techniques, and tactics used by cyber intruders, will arm those who protect our networks with the valuable information they need to fortify our defenses against future cyber attacks.

Because some have said that prior proposals didn't go far enough in safeguarding personal privacy, this bill addresses those concerns with robust privacy measures that ensure the protection of Americans' personal information and private data.

H.R. 1731 will provide protection only for sharing that is done voluntarily with the Department of Homeland Security's NCCIC, which is a civilian entity. It does not provide for or allow sharing with the NSA or the Department of Defense. In fact, this bill expressly prohibits information from being used for surveillance purposes.

This bill also limits the type of information that can be shared, and it requires the removal of all personally identifiable information, which is scrubbed out before the cyber threat indicators can be shared.

In short, this bill improves and increases protection for the personal privacy of Americans, which currently remains so vulnerable to malicious attacks from our cyber adversaries.

Mr. Chairman, the status quo isn't working when it comes to defending against cyber threats. The need to better secure Americans' personal information and better protect and safeguard our critical infrastructure is precisely what compels congressional action right now.

I strongly endorse the passage of this vital legislation, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it as well. I thank the gentleman from Texas for his leadership.

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