IIB 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2096 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 7, 2012 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To advance cybersecurity research, development, and 

technical standards, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cybersecurity En3 hancement Act of 2012’’. 

4 TITLE I—RESEARCH AND 

5 DEVELOPMENT 

6 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

8 (1) NATIONAL COORDINATION OFFICE.—The 

9 term National Coordination Office means the Na10 tional Coordination Office for the Networking and 

11 Information Technology Research and Development 

12 program. 

13 (2) PROGRAM.—The term Program means the 

14 Networking and Information Technology Research 

15 and Development program which has been estab16 lished under section 101 of the High-Performance 

17 Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511). 

18 SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 

19 Section 2 of the Cyber Security Research and Devel20 opment Act (15 U.S.C. 7401) is amended— 

21 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(1) Advancements in information and commu24 nications technology have resulted in a globally 

25 interconnected network of government, commercial, 

26 scientific, and education infrastructures, including 


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1 critical infrastructures for electric power, natural 

2 gas and petroleum production and distribution, tele3 communications, transportation, water supply, bank4 ing and finance, and emergency and government 

5 services.’’; 

6 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Exponential 

7 increases in interconnectivity have facilitated en8 hanced communications, economic growth,’’ and in9 serting ‘‘These advancements have significantly con10 tributed to the growth of the United States econ11 omy’’; 

12 (3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(3) The Cyberspace Policy Review published 

15 by the President in May, 2009, concluded that our 

16 information technology and communications infra17 structure is vulnerable and has ‘suffered intrusions 

18 that have allowed criminals to steal hundreds of mil19 lions of dollars and nation-states and other entities 

20 to steal intellectual property and sensitive military 

21 information’.’’; and 

22 (4) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(6) While African-Americans, Hispanics, and 

25 Native Americans constitute 33 percent of the colVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:19 May 08, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2096.RFS H2096

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1 lege-age population, members of these minorities 

2 comprise less than 20 percent of bachelor degree re3 cipients in the field of computer sciences.’’. 

4 SEC. 103. CYBERSECURITY STRATEGIC RESEARCH AND DE5 VELOPMENT PLAN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the agencies identified 

8 in subsection 101(a)(3)(B)(i) through (x) of the High-Per9 formance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 

10 5511(a)(3)(B)(i) through (x)) or designated under section 

11 101(a)(3)(B)(xi) of such Act, working through the Na12 tional Science and Technology Council and with the assist13 ance of the National Coordination Office, shall transmit 

14 to Congress a strategic plan based on an assessment of 

15 cybersecurity risk to guide the overall direction of Federal 

16 cybersecurity and information assurance research and de17 velopment for information technology and networking sys18 tems. Once every 3 years after the initial strategic plan 

19 is transmitted to Congress under this section, such agen20 cies shall prepare and transmit to Congress an update of 

21 such plan. 

22 (b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The strategic plan re23 quired under subsection (a) shall— 

24 (1) specify and prioritize near-term, mid-term 

25 and long-term research objectives, including objecVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:19 May 08, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2096.RFS H2096

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1 tives associated with the research areas identified in 

2 section 4(a)(1) of the Cyber Security Research and 

3 Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(a)(1)) and how 

4 the near-term objectives complement research and 

5 development areas in which the private sector is ac6 tively engaged; 

7 (2) describe how the Program will focus on in8 novative, transformational technologies with the po9 tential to enhance the security, reliability, resilience, 

10 and trustworthiness of the digital infrastructure, and 

11 to protect consumer privacy; 

12 (3) describe how the Program will foster the 

13 rapid transfer of research and development results 

14 into new cybersecurity technologies and applications 

15 for the timely benefit of society and the national in16 terest, including through the dissemination of best 

17 practices and other outreach activities; 

18 (4) describe how the Program will establish and 

19 maintain a national research infrastructure for cre20 ating, testing, and evaluating the next generation of 

21 secure networking and information technology sys22 tems; 

23 (5) describe how the Program will facilitate ac24 cess by academic researchers to the infrastructure 


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1 described in paragraph (4), as well as to relevant 

2 data, including event data; and 

3 (6) describe how the Program will engage fe4 males and individuals identified in section 33 or 34 

5 of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b) to foster a more di7 verse workforce in this area. 

8 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF ROADMAP.—The agencies de9 scribed in subsection (a) shall develop and annually update 

10 an implementation roadmap for the strategic plan re11 quired in this section. Such roadmap shall— 

12 (1) specify the role of each Federal agency in 

13 carrying out or sponsoring research and development 

14 to meet the research objectives of the strategic plan, 

15 including a description of how progress toward the 

16 research objectives will be evaluated; 

17 (2) specify the funding allocated to each major 

18 research objective of the strategic plan and the 

19 source of funding by agency for the current fiscal 

20 year; and 

21 (3) estimate the funding required for each 

22 major research objective of the strategic plan for the 

23 following 3 fiscal years. 


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1 (d) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In developing and updat2 ing the strategic plan under subsection (a), the agencies 

3 involved shall solicit recommendations and advice from— 

4 (1) the advisory committee established under 

5 section 101(b)(1) of the High-Performance Com6 puting Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511(b)(1)); and 

7 (2) a wide range of stakeholders, including in8 dustry, academia, including representatives of mi9 nority serving institutions and community colleges, 

10 National Laboratories, and other relevant organiza11 tions and institutions. 

12 (e) APPENDING TO REPORT.—The implementation 

13 roadmap required under subsection (c), and its annual up14 dates, shall be appended to the report required under sec15 tion 101(a)(2)(D) of the High-Performance Computing 

16 Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(2)(D)). 

17 SEC. 104. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH IN CYBER18 SECURITY. 

19 Section 4(a)(1) of the Cyber Security Research and 

20 Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(a)(1)) is amended— 

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘and usability’’ after ‘‘to the 

22 structure’’; 

23 (2) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

24 after the semicolon; 


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1 (3) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period 

2 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(J) social and behavioral factors, includ6 ing human-computer interactions, usability, and 

7 user motivations.’’. 

8 SEC. 105. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION CYBERSECU9 RITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PRO10 GRAMS. 

11 (a) COMPUTER AND NETWORK SECURITY RESEARCH

12 AREAS.—Section 4(a)(1) of the Cyber Security Research 

13 and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(a)(1)) is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘identity 

16 management,’’ after ‘‘cryptography,’’; and 

17 (2) in subparagraph (I), by inserting ‘‘, crimes 

18 against children, and organized crime’’ after ‘‘intel19 lectual property’’. 

20 (b) COMPUTER AND NETWORK SECURITY RESEARCH

21 GRANTS.—Section 4(a)(3) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

22 7403(a)(3)) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) 

23 through (E) and inserting the following new subpara24 graphs: 

25 ‘‘(A) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 


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1 ‘‘(B) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

2 ‘‘(C) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

3 (c) COMPUTER AND NETWORK SECURITY RESEARCH

4 CENTERS.—Section 4(b) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(b)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (4)— 

7 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

8 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 

10 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

12 subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(E) how the center will partner with gov14 ernment laboratories, for-profit entities, other 

15 institutions of higher education, or nonprofit re16 search institutions.’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (7) by striking subparagraphs 

18 (A) through (E) and inserting the following new 

19 subparagraphs: 

20 ‘‘(A) $4,500,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

21 ‘‘(B) $4,500,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

22 ‘‘(C) $4,500,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

23 (d) COMPUTER AND NETWORK SECURITY CAPACITY

24 BUILDING GRANTS.—Section 5(a)(6) of such Act (15 

25 U.S.C. 7404(a)(6)) is amended by striking subparagraphs 


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1 (A) through (E) and inserting the following new subpara2 graphs: 

3 ‘‘(A) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

4 ‘‘(B) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

5 ‘‘(C) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

6 (e) SCIENTIFIC AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY ACT

7 GRANTS.—Section 5(b)(2) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 7404(b)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) 

9 through (E) and inserting the following new subpara10 graphs: 

11 ‘‘(A) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

12 ‘‘(B) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

13 ‘‘(C) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

14 (f) GRADUATE TRAINEESHIPS IN COMPUTER AND

15 NETWORK SECURITY.—Section 5(c)(7) of such Act (15 

16 U.S.C. 7404(c)(7)) is amended by striking subparagraphs 

17 (A) through (E) and inserting the following new subpara18 graphs: 

19 ‘‘(A) $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

20 ‘‘(B) $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

21 ‘‘(C) $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

22 (g) CYBER SECURITY FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

23 TRAINEESHIP PROGRAM.—Section 5(e) of such Act (15 

24 U.S.C. 7404(e)) is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 106. FEDERAL CYBER SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

4 Science Foundation shall continue a Scholarship for Serv5 ice program under section 5(a) of the Cyber Security Re6 search and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(a)) to re7 cruit and train the next generation of Federal cybersecu8 rity professionals and to increase the capacity of the high9 er education system to produce an information technology 

10 workforce with the skills necessary to enhance the security 

11 of the Nation’s communications and information infra12 structure. 

13 (b) CHARACTERISTICS OF PROGRAM.—The program 

14 under this section shall— 

15 (1) provide, through qualified institutions of 

16 higher education, scholarships that provide tuition, 

17 fees, and a competitive stipend for up to 2 years to 

18 students pursing a bachelor’s or master’s degree and 

19 up to 3 years to students pursuing a doctoral degree 

20 in a cybersecurity field; 

21 (2) provide the scholarship recipients with sum22 mer internship opportunities or other meaningful 

23 temporary appointments in the Federal information 

24 technology workforce; and 

25 (3) increase the capacity of institutions of high26 er education throughout all regions of the United 


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1 States to produce highly qualified cybersecurity pro2 fessionals, through the award of competitive, merit3 reviewed grants that support such activities as— 

4 (A) faculty professional development, in5 cluding technical, hands-on experiences in the 

6 private sector or government, workshops, semi7 nars, conferences, and other professional devel8 opment opportunities that will result in im9 proved instructional capabilities; 

10 (B) institutional partnerships, including 

11 minority serving institutions and community 

12 colleges; and 

13 (C) development of cybersecurity-related 

14 courses and curricula. 

15 (c) SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—Scholarships under this sec17 tion shall be available only to students who— 

18 (A) are citizens or permanent residents of 

19 the United States; 

20 (B) are full-time students in an eligible de21 gree program, as determined by the Director, 

22 that is focused on computer security or infor23 mation assurance at an awardee institution; 

24 and 


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1 (C) accept the terms of a scholarship pur2 suant to this section. 

3 (2) SELECTION.—Individuals shall be selected 

4 to receive scholarships primarily on the basis of aca5 demic merit, with consideration given to financial 

6 need, to the goal of promoting the participation of 

7 individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of the 

8 Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b), and to veterans. For 

10 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘veteran’’ 

11 means a person who— 

12 (A) served on active duty (other than ac13 tive duty for training) in the Armed Forces of 

14 the United States for a period of more than 

15 180 consecutive days, and who was discharged 

16 or released therefrom under conditions other 

17 than dishonorable; or 

18 (B) served on active duty (other than ac19 tive duty for training) in the Armed Forces of 

20 the United States and was discharged or re21 leased from such service for a service-connected 

22 disability before serving 180 consecutive days. 

23 For purposes of subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘serv24 ice-connected’’ has the meaning given such term 

25 under section 101 of title 38, United States Code. 


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1 (3) SERVICE OBLIGATION.—If an individual re2 ceives a scholarship under this section, as a condi3 tion of receiving such scholarship, the individual 

4 upon completion of their degree must serve as a cy5 bersecurity professional within the Federal workforce 

6 for a period of time as provided in paragraph (5). 

7 If a scholarship recipient is not offered employment 

8 by a Federal agency or a federally funded research 

9 and development center, the service requirement can 

10 be satisfied at the Director’s discretion by— 

11 (A) serving as a cybersecurity professional 

12 in a State, local, or tribal government agency; 

13 or 

14 (B) teaching cybersecurity courses at an 

15 institution of higher education. 

16 (4) CONDITIONS OF SUPPORT.—As a condition 

17 of acceptance of a scholarship under this section, a 

18 recipient shall agree to provide the awardee institu19 tion with annual verifiable documentation of employ20 ment and up-to-date contact information. 

21 (5) LENGTH OF SERVICE.—The length of serv22 ice required in exchange for a scholarship under this 

23 subsection shall be 1 year more than the number of 

24 years for which the scholarship was received. 


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1 (d) FAILURE TO COMPLETE SERVICE OBLIGA2 TION.— 

3 (1) GENERAL RULE.—If an individual who has 

4 received a scholarship under this section— 

5 (A) fails to maintain an acceptable level of 

6 academic standing in the educational institution 

7 in which the individual is enrolled, as deter8 mined by the Director; 

9 (B) is dismissed from such educational in10 stitution for disciplinary reasons; 

11 (C) withdraws from the program for which 

12 the award was made before the completion of 

13 such program; 

14 (D) declares that the individual does not 

15 intend to fulfill the service obligation under this 

16 section; or 

17 (E) fails to fulfill the service obligation of 

18 the individual under this section, 

19 such individual shall be liable to the United States 

20 as provided in paragraph (3). 

21 (2) MONITORING COMPLIANCE.—As a condition 

22 of participating in the program, a qualified institu23 tion of higher education receiving a grant under this 

24 section shall— 


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1 (A) enter into an agreement with the Di2 rector of the National Science Foundation to 

3 monitor the compliance of scholarship recipients 

4 with respect to their service obligation; and 

5 (B) provide to the Director, on an annual 

6 basis, post-award employment information re7 quired under subsection (c)(4) for scholarship 

8 recipients through the completion of their serv9 ice obligation. 

10 (3) AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT.— 

11 (A) LESS THAN ONE YEAR OF SERVICE.— 

12 If a circumstance described in paragraph (1) 

13 occurs before the completion of 1 year of a 

14 service obligation under this section, the total 

15 amount of awards received by the individual 

16 under this section shall be repaid or such 

17 amount shall be treated as a loan to be repaid 

18 in accordance with subparagraph (C). 

19 (B) MORE THAN ONE YEAR OF SERVICE.— 

20 If a circumstance described in subparagraph 

21 (D) or (E) of paragraph (1) occurs after the 

22 completion of 1 year of a service obligation 

23 under this section, the total amount of scholar24 ship awards received by the individual under 

25 this section, reduced by the ratio of the number 


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1 of years of service completed divided by the 

2 number of years of service required, shall be re3 paid or such amount shall be treated as a loan 

4 to be repaid in accordance with subparagraph 

5 (C). 

6 (C) REPAYMENTS.—A loan described in 

7 subparagraph (A) or (B) shall be treated as a 

8 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan 

9 under part D of title IV of the Higher Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a and fol11 lowing), and shall be subject to repayment, to12 gether with interest thereon accruing from the 

13 date of the scholarship award, in accordance 

14 with terms and conditions specified by the Di15 rector (in consultation with the Secretary of 

16 Education) in regulations promulgated to carry 

17 out this paragraph. 

18 (4) COLLECTION OF REPAYMENT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the event that a 

20 scholarship recipient is required to repay the 

21 scholarship under this subsection, the institu22 tion providing the scholarship shall— 

23 (i) be responsible for determining the 

24 repayment amounts and for notifying the 


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1 recipient and the Director of the amount 

2 owed; and 

3 (ii) collect such repayment amount 

4 within a period of time as determined 

5 under the agreement described in para6 graph (2), or the repayment amount shall 

7 be treated as a loan in accordance with 

8 paragraph (3)(C). 

9 (B) RETURNED TO TREASURY.—Except as 

10 provided in subparagraph (C) of this para11 graph, any such repayment shall be returned to 

12 the Treasury of the United States. 

13 (C) RETAIN PERCENTAGE.—An institution 

14 of higher education may retain a percentage of 

15 any repayment the institution collects under 

16 this paragraph to defray administrative costs 

17 associated with the collection. The Director 

18 shall establish a single, fixed percentage that 

19 will apply to all eligible entities. 

20 (5) EXCEPTIONS.—The Director may provide 

21 for the partial or total waiver or suspension of any 

22 service or payment obligation by an individual under 

23 this section whenever compliance by the individual 

24 with the obligation is impossible or would involve ex25 treme hardship to the individual, or if enforcement 


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1 of such obligation with respect to the individual 

2 would be unconscionable. 

3 (e) HIRING AUTHORITY.—For purposes of any law 

4 or regulation governing the appointment of individuals in 

5 the Federal civil service, upon successful completion of 

6 their degree, students receiving a scholarship under this 

7 section shall be hired under the authority provided for in 

8 section 213.3102(r) of title 5, Code of Federal Regula9 tions, and be exempted from competitive service. Upon ful10 fillment of the service term, such individuals shall be con11 verted to a competitive service position without competi12 tion if the individual meets the requirements for that posi13 tion. 

14 SEC. 107. CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT. 

15 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act the President shall transmit to the Congress 

17 a report addressing the cybersecurity workforce needs of 

18 the Federal Government. The report shall include— 

19 (1) an examination of the current state of and 

20 the projected needs of the Federal cybersecurity 

21 workforce, including a comparison of the different 

22 agencies and departments, and an analysis of the ca23 pacity of such agencies and departments to meet 

24 those needs; 


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1 (2) an analysis of the sources and availability of 

2 cybersecurity talent, a comparison of the skills and 

3 expertise sought by the Federal Government and the 

4 private sector, an examination of the current and fu5 ture capacity of United States institutions of higher 

6 education, including community colleges, to provide 

7 current and future cybersecurity professionals, 

8 through education and training activities, with those 

9 skills sought by the Federal Government, State and 

10 local entities, and the private sector, and a descrip11 tion of how successful programs are engaging the 

12 talents of females and individuals identified in sec13 tion 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering Equal 

14 Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b); 

15 (3) an examination of the effectiveness of the 

16 National Centers of Academic Excellence in Infor17 mation Assurance Education, the Centers of Aca18 demic Excellence in Research, and the Federal 

19 Cyber Scholarship for Service programs in pro20 moting higher education and research in cybersecu21 rity and information assurance and in producing a 

22 growing number of professionals with the necessary 

23 cybersecurity and information assurance expertise, 

24 including individuals from States or regions in which 

25 the unemployment rate exceeds the national average; 


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1 (4) an analysis of any barriers to the Federal 

2 Government recruiting and hiring cybersecurity tal3 ent, including barriers relating to compensation, the 

4 hiring process, job classification, and hiring flexibili5 ties; and 

6 (5) recommendations for Federal policies to en7 sure an adequate, well-trained Federal cybersecurity 

8 workforce. 

9 SEC. 108. CYBERSECURITY UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY TASK 

10 FORCE. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY

12 TASK FORCE.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science 

14 and Technology Policy shall convene a task force to ex15 plore mechanisms for carrying out collaborative research, 

16 development, education, and training activities for cyber17 security through a consortium or other appropriate entity 

18 with participants from institutions of higher education and 

19 industry. 

20 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The task force shall— 

21 (1) develop options for a collaborative model 

22 and an organizational structure for such entity 

23 under which the joint research and development ac24 tivities could be planned, managed, and conducted 

25 effectively, including mechanisms for the allocation 


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1 of resources among the participants in such entity 

2 for support of such activities; 

3 (2) propose a process for developing a research 

4 and development agenda for such entity, including 

5 guidelines to ensure an appropriate scope of work fo6 cused on nationally significant challenges and requir7 ing collaboration; 

8 (3) define the roles and responsibilities for the 

9 participants from institutions of higher education 

10 and industry in such entity; 

11 (4) propose guidelines for assigning intellectual 

12 property rights and for the transfer of research and 

13 development results to the private sector; and 

14 (5) make recommendations for how such entity 

15 could be funded from Federal, State, and nongovern16 mental sources. 

17 (c) COMPOSITION.—In establishing the task force 

18 under subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Science 

19 and Technology Policy shall appoint an equal number of 

20 individuals from institutions of higher education, including 

21 minority-serving institutions and community colleges, and 

22 from industry with knowledge and expertise in cybersecu23 rity. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office 


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1 of Science and Technology Policy shall transmit to the 

2 Congress a report describing the findings and rec3 ommendations of the task force. 

4 (e) TERMINATION.—The task force shall terminate 

5 upon transmittal of the report required under subsection 

6 (d). 

7 (f) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—Members of 

8 the task force shall serve without compensation. 

9 SEC. 109. CYBERSECURITY AUTOMATION AND CHECKLISTS 

10 FOR GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS. 

11 Section 8(c) of the Cyber Security Research and De12 velopment Act (15 U.S.C. 7406(c)) is amended to read 

13 as follows: 

14 ‘‘(c) SECURITY AUTOMATION AND CHECKLISTS FOR

15 GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Na17 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall 

18 develop, and revise as necessary, security automation 

19 standards, associated reference materials (including 

20 protocols), and checklists providing settings and op21 tion selections that minimize the security risks asso22 ciated with each information technology hardware or 

23 software system and security tool that is, or is likely 

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1 able technologies, architectures, and frameworks for 

2 continuous monitoring of information security within 

3 the Federal Government. 

4 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT.—The Di5 rector of the National Institute of Standards and 

6 Technology shall establish priorities for the develop7 ment of standards, reference materials, and check8 lists under this subsection on the basis of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the security risks associated with the 

10 use of the system; 

11 ‘‘(B) the number of agencies that use a 

12 particular system or security tool; 

13 ‘‘(C) the usefulness of the standards, ref14 erence materials, or checklists to Federal agen15 cies that are users or potential users of the sys16 tem; 

17 ‘‘(D) the effectiveness of the associated 

18 standard, reference material, or checklist in cre19 ating or enabling continuous monitoring of in20 formation security; or 

21 ‘‘(E) such other factors as the Director of 

22 the National Institute of Standards and Tech23 nology determines to be appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(3) EXCLUDED SYSTEMS.—The Director of 

25 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 


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1 may exclude from the application of paragraph (1) 

2 any information technology hardware or software 

3 system or security tool for which such Director de4 termines that the development of a standard, ref5 erence material, or checklist is inappropriate because 

6 of the infrequency of use of the system, the obsoles7 cence of the system, or the inutility or imprac8 ticability of developing a standard, reference mate9 rial, or checklist for the system. 

10 ‘‘(4) DISSEMINATION OF STANDARDS AND RE11 LATED MATERIALS.—The Director of the National 

12 Institute of Standards and Technology shall ensure 

13 that Federal agencies are informed of the avail14 ability of any standard, reference material, checklist, 

15 or other item developed under this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(5) AGENCY USE REQUIREMENTS.—The devel17 opment of standards, reference materials, and check18 lists under paragraph (1) for an information tech19 nology hardware or software system or tool does 

20 not— 

21 ‘‘(A) require any Federal agency to select 

22 the specific settings or options recommended by 

23 the standard, reference material, or checklist 

24 for the system; 


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1 ‘‘(B) establish conditions or prerequisites 

2 for Federal agency procurement or deployment 

3 of any such system; 

4 ‘‘(C) imply an endorsement of any such 

5 system by the Director of the National Institute 

6 of Standards and Technology; or 

7 ‘‘(D) preclude any Federal agency from 

8 procuring or deploying other information tech9 nology hardware or software systems for which 

10 no such standard, reference material, or check11 list has been developed or identified under para12 graph (1).’’. 

13 SEC. 110. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH14 NOLOGY CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH AND 

15 DEVELOPMENT. 

16 Section 20 of the National Institute of Standards and 

17 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–3) is amended by redes18 ignating subsection (e) as subsection (f), and by inserting 

19 after subsection (d) the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) INTRAMURAL SECURITY RESEARCH.—As part of 

21 the research activities conducted in accordance with sub22 section (d)(3), the Institute shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) conduct a research program to develop a 

24 unifying and standardized identity, privilege, and ac25 cess control management framework for the execuVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:19 May 08, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2096.RFS H2096

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1 tion of a wide variety of resource protection policies 

2 and that is amenable to implementation within a 

3 wide variety of existing and emerging computing en4 vironments; 

5 ‘‘(2) carry out research associated with improv6 ing the security of information systems and net7 works; 

8 ‘‘(3) carry out research associated with improv9 ing the testing, measurement, usability, and assur10 ance of information systems and networks; and 

11 ‘‘(4) carry out research associated with improv12 ing security of industrial control systems.’’. 

13 TITLE II—ADVANCEMENT OF CY14 BERSECURITY TECHNICAL 

15 STANDARDS 

16 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this title: 

18 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

19 the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

20 and Technology. 

21 (2) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means 

22 the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 


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1 SEC. 202. INTERNATIONAL CYBERSECURITY TECHNICAL 

2 STANDARDS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in coordination with 

4 appropriate Federal authorities, shall— 

5 (1) as appropriate, ensure coordination of Fed6 eral agencies engaged in the development of inter7 national technical standards related to information 

8 system security; and 

9 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of en10 actment of this Act, develop and transmit to the 

11 Congress a plan for ensuring such Federal agency 

12 coordination. 

13 (b) CONSULTATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR.— 

14 In carrying out the activities specified in subsection (a)(1), 

15 the Director shall ensure consultation with appropriate 

16 private sector stakeholders. 

17 SEC. 203. CLOUD COMPUTING STRATEGY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in collaboration 

19 with the Federal CIO Council, and in consultation with 

20 other relevant Federal agencies and stakeholders from the 

21 private sector, shall continue to develop and encourage the 

22 implementation of a comprehensive strategy for the use 

23 and adoption of cloud computing services by the Federal 

24 Government. 


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1 (b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the strategy devel2 oped under subsection (a), the Director shall give consid3 eration to activities that— 

4 (1) accelerate the development, in collaboration 

5 with the private sector, of standards that address 

6 interoperability and portability of cloud computing 

7 services; 

8 (2) advance the development of conformance 

9 testing performed by the private sector in support of 

10 cloud computing standardization; and 

11 (3) support, in consultation with the private 

12 sector, the development of appropriate security 

13 frameworks and reference materials, and the identi14 fication of best practices, for use by Federal agen15 cies to address security and privacy requirements to 

16 enable the use and adoption of cloud computing 

17 services, including activities— 

18 (A) to ensure the physical security of cloud 

19 computing data centers and the data stored in 

20 such centers; 

21 (B) to ensure secure access to the data 

22 stored in cloud computing data centers; 

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1 tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

2 U.S.C. 278g-3); and 

3 (D) to support the development of the au4 tomation of continuous monitoring systems. 

5 SEC. 204. PROMOTING CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS AND 

6 EDUCATION. 

7 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director, in collaboration with 

8 relevant Federal agencies, industry, educational institu9 tions, National Laboratories, the National Coordination 

10 Office of the Networking and Information Technology Re11 search and Development program, and other organiza12 tions, shall continue to coordinate a cybersecurity aware13 ness and education program to increase knowledge, skills, 

14 and awareness of cybersecurity risks, consequences, and 

15 best practices through— 

16 (1) the widespread dissemination of cybersecu17 rity technical standards and best practices identified 

18 by the Institute; 

19 (2) efforts to make cybersecurity best practices 

20 usable by individuals, small to medium-sized busi21 nesses, State, local, and tribal governments, and 

22 educational institutions; and 

23 (3) efforts to attract, recruit, and retain quali24 fied professionals to the Federal cybersecurity work25 force. 


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1 (b) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Director shall, in co2 operation with relevant Federal agencies and other stake3 holders, develop and implement a strategic plan to guide 

4 Federal programs and activities in support of a com5 prehensive cybersecurity awareness and education pro6 gram as described under subsection (a). 

7 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act and every 5 years 

9 thereafter, the Director shall transmit the strategic plan 

10 required under subsection (b) to the Committee on 

11 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate. 

14 SEC. 205. IDENTITY MANAGEMENT RESEARCH AND DEVEL15 OPMENT. 

16 The Director shall continue a program to support the 

17 development of technical standards, metrology, testbeds, 

18 and conformance criteria, taking into account appropriate 

19 user concerns, to— 

20 (1) improve interoperability among identity 

21 management technologies; 

22 (2) strengthen authentication methods of iden23 tity management systems; 

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1 nology systems, through authentication and security 

2 protocols; and 

3 (4) improve the usability of identity manage4 ment systems. 

5 SEC. 206. AUTHORIZATIONS. 

6 No additional funds are authorized to carry out this 

7 title and the amendments made by this title or to carry 

8 out the amendments made by sections 109 and 110 of this 

9 Act. This title and the amendments made by this title and 

10 the amendments made by sections 109 and 110 of this 

11 Act shall be carried out using amounts otherwise author12 ized or appropriated. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 27, 2012. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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