Portman’s cybersecurity bill receives Senate approval

Bipartisan legislation offered by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) to bolster cybersecurity at the local and federal levels has been passed by the Senate.

The U.S. Senate on Sept. 24 approved the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act of 2019, H.R. 1158, by unanimous consent, reconciling the U.S. House of Representatives’ bill with the Senate’s same-named version, S. 315, which Sen. Portman introduced in January with U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH). The House needs to pass an amendment to the bill before it heads to the president to be signed into law.

“I am glad the Senate passed our bipartisan legislation and I hope we send it to the president’s desk soon so that we can strengthen our response efforts in the event of a cyberattack,” Sen. Portman said last week.

The measure requires that DHS make permanent so-called “cyber hunt” and “cyber incident response” teams, which will work to prevent cyberattacks at all levels of government and the private sector, while mitigating the impact of such attacks when they occur.

The bill also authorizes DHS to include private-sector experts on the teams and permits local governments and other non-federal entities to request assistance from the teams when needed.

“Our cyber response teams play an important role in protecting against cyber threats, reducing cybersecurity risks, and helping to get our cyber infrastructure backup and running after an attack occurs,” said Sen. Portman.

The House version of the bill was introduced in February by U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and James Langevin (D-RI).