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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 399 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 399

 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness 
Month and raising awareness and enhancing the state of cybersecurity in 
                           the United States.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2013

Mr. Langevin submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
            the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness 
Month and raising awareness and enhancing the state of cybersecurity in 
                           the United States.

Whereas the use of the Internet in the United States to communicate, conduct 
        business, or generate commerce that benefits the overall United States 
        economy is ubiquitous;
Whereas many people use the Internet in the United States to communicate with 
        family and friends, manage finances and pay bills, access educational 
        opportunities, work remotely, shop at home, participate in online 
        entertainment and games, and stay informed of news and current events;
Whereas the exponential growth of these services has led to a concomitant 
        increase in the amount of personal data stored electronically;
Whereas the avenues to attack repositories holding these data have 
        correspondingly increased and led to significant financial and personal 
        privacy losses through theft and fraud;
Whereas the intellectual property, including proprietary information, 
        copyrights, patents, trademarks, and related information, of business, 
        academic institutions, government, and individuals are vital to the 
        economic security of the United States;
Whereas the theft of intellectual property in the United States likely results 
        in the loss of over $300,000,000,000 per year, according to the 
        Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property;
Whereas this massive illicit activity is facilitated by advanced persistent 
        threats and other state and non-state cyber actors;
Whereas United States small businesses, which employ a significant fraction of 
        the private workforce, increasingly rely on the Internet to manage their 
        businesses, expand their customer reach, and enhance the management of 
        their supply chain;
Whereas studies have shown that small businesses are frequently the target of 
        cyberattacks due to their less comprehensive defenses and that small 
        businesses incur a significantly higher per capita cost per cyber 
        incident than do larger companies;
Whereas critical infrastructure systems in the United States rely on the secure 
        and reliable operation of information networks to support the United 
        States Armed Forces, civilian government, energy, telecommunications, 
        financial services, transportation, health care, and emergency response 
        systems;
Whereas critical infrastructure owners and operators face a growing threat of 
        cyberattack as evidenced by increasingly sophisticated and destructive 
        attacks and the denial of service attacks perpetrated on financial 
        institutions;
Whereas research tools continue to reveal the large number of industrial control 
        systems and other critical information infrastructure connected to the 
        Internet;
Whereas nearly all public schools in the United States have Internet access to 
        enhance education, with a significant percentage of instructional rooms 
        connected to the Internet to provide access to educational online 
        content and encourage self-initiative to discover research resources;
Whereas the number of children who connect to the Internet continues to rise, 
        and teaching children of all ages to become good cyber-citizens through 
        safe, secure, and ethical online behaviors and practices is essential to 
        protect their computer systems and potentially their personal safety;
Whereas in addition to increasing personal safety and web hygiene, cybersecurity 
        education initiatives can foster an interest in the discipline that may 
        culminate in matriculation into a cybersecurity occupation helping to 
        ease the shortage of qualified professionals;
Whereas national organizations, policymakers, government agencies, private 
        sector companies, nonprofit institutions, schools, academic 
        organizations, consumers, and the media recognize the need to increase 
        awareness of cybersecurity and the need for enhanced cybersecurity in 
        the United States;
Whereas coordination between the numerous Federal agencies involved in 
        cybersecurity efforts is essential to securing the cyber infrastructure 
        of the United States;
Whereas the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, published in February 2003, 
        recommends a comprehensive national awareness program to empower all 
        people in the United States, including businesses, the general 
        workforce, and the general population, to secure their own parts of 
        cyberspace;
Whereas the White House's Cyberspace Policy Review, published in May 2009, 
        recommends that the United States Government initiate a national public 
        awareness and education campaign to promote cybersecurity;
Whereas ``STOP. THINK. CONNECT.'' is the national cybersecurity awareness 
        campaign founded and led by the National Cyber Security Alliance and the 
        Anti-Phishing Working Group as a public-private partnership with the 
        Department of Homeland Security to help all digital citizens stay safer 
        and more secure online;
Whereas the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), led by the 
        National Institute of Standards and Technology, is the coordinating body 
        for the Federal Government to establish a sustainable, operational, and 
        continually improving cybersecurity education program to enhance the 
        Nation's cybersecurity and support the development of a professional 
        cybersecurity workforce and cyber-capable citizens; and
Whereas the National Cyber Security Alliance, the Multi-State Information 
        Sharing and Analysis Center, the Department of Homeland Security, and 
        other organizations working to improve cybersecurity in the United 
        States have designated October 2013 as the tenth annual National Cyber 
        Security Awareness Month in order to educate the people of the United 
        States about the importance of cybersecurity: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Cyber 
        Security Awareness Month;
            (2) continues to work with Federal agencies, businesses, 
        educational institutions, and other organizations to enhance 
        the state of cybersecurity in the United States;
            (3) commends the work of the National Initiative for 
        Cybersecurity Education and all the Federal agencies, 
        nonprofits, educational institutions, businesses, and other 
        organizations that support this effort;
            (4) recognizes ``STOP. THINK. CONNECT.'' as the national 
        cybersecurity awareness campaign to educate people of the 
        United States and help all citizens stay safer and more secure 
        online; and
            (5) congratulates the National Cyber Security Alliance, the 
        Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the 
        Department of Homeland Security, and other organizations 
        working to improve cybersecurity in the United States on the 
        tenth anniversary of the National Cyber Security Awareness 
        Month.
                                 <all>
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