The House voted 395-10 on Friday to approve a bill to increase education, research, and development to confront cyberthreats.
The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2011, sponsored by Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., would authorize research and education, as well as the development of standards at the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It gives NIST the authority to set standards for federal agencies.
“This bipartisan bill will help eliminate the shortfall of skilled cybersecurity professionals and develop the technologies we need to defend our infrastructure, industry, and the public from cybercrime," Lipinski said in a statement.
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., has introduced companion legislation.
By voice vote the House on Friday also agreed to reauthorize the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program, which is one of the main programs to develop unclassified ways to protect copmuter networks.
The bill is one of several considered by the House this week, including controversial legislation passed by the House on Thursday night. That bill, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, is aimed at freeing up businesses and government agencies to share cybersecurity information with each other.
The House also approved a bill on Thursday night that modernizes federal information-security policies.
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