*EPF420 02/07/2002
U.S. House of Representatives Approves Cyber Security Legislation
(Measure designed to fund research to protect infrastructure) (430)

By Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr.
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation February 7 that would provide $877.85 million over five years to fund research among colleges, universities and research organizations to develop ways to protect the nation's computer networks from attack by terrorists and hackers.

"A cyber attack could knock out electricity, drinking water and sewage systems, financial institutions, assembly lines and communications," House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, a New York Republican, said February 7.

The House voted 400-12 for the "Cyber Security Research and Development Act," which now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Boehlert said "the attacks of September 11th have turned our attention to the nation's weaknesses, and again we find that our capacity to conduct research and to educate will have to be enhanced if we are to counter our foes over the long run. No less than the Cold War, the war against terrorism will have to be waged in the laboratory as well as on the battlefield."

The legislation creates research grants at the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to enhance computer security.

President Bush made securing the nation's critical infrastructure an administration priority following the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. He signed an executive order October 16, 2001 to create the Critical Infrastructure Board to recommend policies and coordinate programs for protecting information systems.

Critical infrastructures include telecommunications, electrical power systems, gas and oil storage and transportation, banking and finance, transportation, water supply systems, emergency services (including medical, police, fire, and rescue), and continuity of government. Threats to these critical infrastructures fall into two categories: physical threats to tangible property and threats of electronic, radio-frequency, or computer-based attacks on the information or communications components that control critical infrastructures ("cyber threats").

CIA Director George Tenet said in April 1998 that the United States is "currently building an information infrastructure -- the most complex systems the world has ever known -- on an insecure foundation. We have ignored the need to build trust into our systems. Simply hoping that someday we can add the needed security before it is too late is not a strategy."

Tenet said that U.S. national security and economic well being depend upon a secure infrastructure system. A CIA report made public last year indicates that the United States, China and Russia are training soldiers to attack and defend targets through use of the global Internet.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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