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A bipartisan group of lawmakers is proposing a civilian reserve unit to act as a bulwark against cyber and ransomware attacks targeting federal agencies.
Bill administered by representatives. Tony Gonzales, Texas Republican and Robin Kelly, Illinois Democrat, would form a National Digital Reserve Association of civilian cyber experts under the General Services Administration. It will provide a pool of expertise that the federal government can draw on for specific projects.
“As we have seen from multiple cyber and ransomware attacks this year, the US government currently lacks access to digital expertise,” he said. GonzalesHe served as a senior cryptologist in the Navy before being elected to Congress. “The National Digital Reserve Corps organization seeks to fill this gap with civilian industry experts who serve our federal government and national security.”
Reserves will be committed in three-year terms and detailed by the GSA to various federal agencies to work on federal government projects for 30 days each calendar year.
The recent wave of high-profile cyber and ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure has caused alarm in Congress and across the federal government. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorkas told the Senate Homeland Security and State Affairs Committee this week that cyber threats “remain one of the most important threats facing our nation.”
In 2020, DHS saw a 311% increase in ransomware over the previous year, with an estimated 2,400 targeted attacks costing an estimated $350 million.
“Our federal government and private sector partners must be prepared to respond to and recover from a cyber incident, maintaining critical functions even in degraded conditions and, in some cases, rapidly restarting critical functions after an outage,” said Mr. Majorkas. Said.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told the same panel that the bureau is currently investigating “more than 100 different strains of ransomware, each with a large number of victims.”
Mr. Gonzales said the majority of federal cyber expertise resides in the Department of Defense or the national security apparatus, but he He said other federal and municipal agencies remained vulnerable to attacks. he said her The bill will provide a deeper bench for federal agencies that may lack expertise.
“The National Digital Reserve Corps is an innovative solution that helps the federal government achieve its cybersecurity and digital needs while giving reservists the opportunity to gain valuable experience and receive additional training to hone their skills,” Kelly said.
Proposed as an amendment to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an annual defense policy bill currently on the House floor, the bill is supported by more than 30 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.
Parliament began discussing nearly 500 changes to the NDAA late Tuesday.
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