Yoho Votes to Improve Cybersecurity Protection for All Americans
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Ted S. Yoho (R-FL-03) voted to protect all Americans from the growing threat of cyberattacks. Yoho voted in favor of two bills that will strengthen the nation’s ability to monitor and address these threats - H.R. 1560—Protecting Cyber Networks Act and H.R. 1731 – National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act. Congressman Yoho gave the following statement:
“The threat of cyberattacks to our country and the American people are growing in their sophistication and frequency by the minute. Whether it is the federal government, private business, or the identity theft of individual Americans, we must do all we can to combat this threat. The two cyber security bills we passed out of the House this week make protection a priority, while preserving the personal liberties of all Americans.
“These bills encourage the voluntary sharing of information to strengthen cyber defense, require congressional reporting and oversight, and mandate sunsets in seven years. This will require congressional approval in order for this legislation to continue past the seven years.
“Cyberattacks are a serious threat to us all. By interconnecting our defenses – between the federal government and private sector – we can better minimize the severity of these unseen, yet devastating, attacks.”
Short Summary of both bills:
H.R. 1560 would amend the National Security Act of 1947 by directing the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), in consultation with the heads of the Departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Justice, Commerce, and Defense (“appropriate Federal entities”), to establish procedures to facilitate and promote the timely sharing of cyber threat indicators with the private sector.
H.R. 1731 would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to encourage voluntary information sharing about cyber threats between the private sector and Federal government. The bill also includes numerous provisions to ensure the protection of the privacy of American citizens and that shared cyber threat information is solely used for cybersecurity purposes.
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Congressman Ted Yoho serves on the Foreign Affairs and Agriculture Committees. He represents North Florida’s 3rd Congressional District