Ernst, Fischer introduce bill to enhance cyber defense by tracking National Guard cyber capabilities

U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced bipartisan legislation to require the Department of Defense (DoD) to track the cyber capabilities of National Guard and Reserve units to bolster national security.

The DoD Emergency Response Capabilities Database Enhancement Act would require the DoD to begin tracking National Guard cyber capabilities that are critical to national defense and domestic response within one year.

“The reality is that cyber warfare is an emerging and ever-evolving battlefield, and we must use all available tools to protect our nation’s security, including those that already exist in our National Guard units,” Ernst, a combat veteran of the National Guard, said. “Many of our guardsmen work in the cyber and IT field in their civilian careers, and we must present more opportunities to harness their skill set to advance our nation’s cyber initiatives.”

National Guard units have developed cyber capabilities that could be used to support civil authorities in a cyber incident, but the DoD does not have “visibility of all National Guard units’ capabilities for this support,” a 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found.

Ernst, the chairwoman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, has questioned leaders of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency (NSA) on the use of National Guard cyber capabilities during two committee hearings.

The DoD Emergency Response Capabilities Database Enhancement Act would enable the DoD to update or use existing systems to track National Guard and Reserve unit capabilities if that is faster and more cost effective.

U.S. Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) joined Ernst and Fischer in introducing the bipartisan measure.