House approves Bacon’s proposal to expand reach of national cybersecurity center

The U.S. House of Representatives on June 25 passed a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) proposing expanded cyber activities for the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The DHS Industrial Control Systems Capabilities Enhancement Act of 2018, H.R. 5733, would expand the responsibilities of the NCCIC to ensure its activities addressed the security of both information and operational technology, including industrial control systems, according to the congressional record summary. Rep. Bacon, who serves on the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, introduced H.R. 5733 on May 9 along with original cosponsors U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the committee, and John Ratcliffe (R-TX), also a committee member.

“DHS provides critical support to operators of industrial control systems (ICS), and my bill clarifies this responsibility so the department can continue to identify and address threats to ICS in critical infrastructure,” Rep. Bacon explained in a June 25 statement.

DHS describes the NCCIC as a 24/7 cyber situational awareness, incident-response, management center that is a national nexus of cyber and communications integration for the federal government, intelligence community, and law enforcement.

“Any disruption or damage to critical infrastructure has the potential to cause catastrophic consequences to our nation’s public health and safety, economic security and national security,” the congressman said.

H.R. 5733 would require that the NCCIC maintain capabilities to identify and address threats and vulnerabilities to products and technologies intended for use in the automated control of critical infrastructure processes by: (1) leading efforts to mitigate cybersecurity threats to industrial control systems, (2) maintaining cross-sector incident response capabilities to respond to cybersecurity incidents, and (3) providing cybersecurity technical assistance to stakeholders, according to the congressional record summary.

“The next ‘Pearl Harbor attack’ will not be with missiles and torpedoes alone, but will be paired with attacks to our private-sector functions needed to support our daily lives, such as our electric grid,” said Rep. Bacon, who aims to ensure the resilience of these systems remains a priority.

This is the lawmaker’s fourth bill to advance with House approval during this congressional term, according to his staff.

The House passed H.R. 5733 by voice vote and the measure now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.