Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2017

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for innovative research and development, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2017 2. Cybersecurity research and development projects (a) Cybersecurity research and development (1) In general Title III of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 181 321. Cybersecurity research and development (a) In general The Under Secretary for Science and Technology shall support the research, development, testing, evaluation, and transition of cybersecurity technologies, including fundamental research to improve the sharing of information, information security, analytics, and methodologies related to cybersecurity risks and incidents, consistent with current law. (b) Activities The research and development supported under subsection (a) shall serve the components of the Department and shall— (1) advance the development and accelerate the deployment of more secure information systems; (2) improve and create technologies for detecting and preventing attacks or intrusions, including real-time continuous diagnostics, real-time analytic technologies, and full lifecycle information protection; (3) improve and create mitigation and recovery methodologies, including techniques and policies for real-time containment of attacks, and development of resilient networks and information systems; (4) support, in coordination with non-Federal entities, the review of source code that underpins critical infrastructure information systems; (5) assist the development and support infrastructure and tools to support cybersecurity research and development efforts, including modeling, testbeds, and data sets for assessment of new cybersecurity technologies; (6) assist the development and support of technologies to reduce vulnerabilities in industrial control systems; (7) assist the development and support cyber forensics and attack attribution capabilities; (8) assist the development and accelerate the deployment of full information lifecycle security technologies to enhance protection, control, and privacy of information to detect and prevent cybersecurity risks and incidents; (9) assist the development and accelerate the deployment of information security measures, in addition to perimeter-based protections; (10) assist the development and accelerate the deployment of technologies to detect improper information access by authorized users; (11) assist the development and accelerate the deployment of cryptographic technologies to protect information at rest, in transit, and in use; (12) assist the development and accelerate the deployment of methods to promote greater software assurance; (13) assist the development and accelerate the deployment of tools to securely and automatically update software and firmware in use, with limited or no necessary intervention by users and limited impact on concurrently operating systems and processes; and (14) assist in identifying and addressing unidentified or future cybersecurity threats. (c) Coordination In carrying out this section, the Under Secretary for Science and Technology shall coordinate activities with— (1) the Under Secretary appointed pursuant to section 103(a)(1)(H); (2) the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate; and (3) industry and academia. (d) Transition to practice The Under Secretary for Science and Technology shall support projects carried out under this title through the full life cycle of such projects, including research, development, testing, evaluation, pilots, and transitions. The Under Secretary shall identify mature technologies that address existing or imminent cybersecurity gaps in public or private information systems and networks of information systems, protect sensitive information within and outside networks of information systems, identify and support necessary improvements identified during pilot programs and testing and evaluation activities, and introduce new cybersecurity technologies throughout the homeland security enterprise through partnerships and commercialization. The Under Secretary shall target federally funded cybersecurity research that demonstrates a high probability of successful transition to the commercial market within two years and that is expected to have a notable impact on the public or private information systems and networks of information systems. (e) Definitions In this section: (1) Cybersecurity risk The term cybersecurity risk (2) Homeland security enterprise The term homeland security enterprise (3) Incident The term incident (4) Information system The term information system (5) Software assurance The term software assurance (A) is free from vulnerabilities, either intentionally designed into the software or accidentally inserted at any time during the life cycle of the software; and (B) functioning in the intended manner. . (2) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting after the item relating to the second section 319 the following new item: Sec. 321. Cybersecurity research and development. . (b) Research and development projects Section 831 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 391 (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 2016 2021 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking the last sentence; and (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (3) Prior approval In any case in which the head of a component or office of the Department seeks to utilize the authority under this section, such head shall first receive prior approval from the Secretary by providing to the Secretary a proposal that includes the rationale for the utilization of such authority, the funds to be spent on the use of such authority, and the expected outcome for each project that is the subject of the use of such authority. In such a case, the authority for evaluating the proposal may not be delegated by the Secretary to anyone other than the Under Secretary for Management. ; (2) in subsection (c)— (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 2016 2021 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: (2) Report The Secretary shall annually submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report detailing the projects for which the authority granted by subsection (a) was utilized, the rationale for such utilizations, the funds spent utilizing such authority, the extent of cost-sharing for such projects among Federal and non-Federal sources, the extent to which utilization of such authority has addressed a homeland security capability gap or threat to the homeland identified by the Department, the total amount of payments, if any, that were received by the Federal Government as a result of the utilization of such authority during the period covered by each such report, the outcome of each project for which such authority was utilized, and the results of any audits of such projects. ; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection: (e) Training The Secretary shall develop a training program for acquisitions staff on the utilization of the authority provided under subsection (a) to ensure accountability and effective management of projects consistent with the Program Management Improvement Accountability Act ( Public Law 114–264 . (c) No additional funds authorized No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized.

Summary: Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2017 This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support the research, development, testing, evaluation, and transition of cybersecurity technologies. Such research and development shall: advance the development and accelerate the deployment of more secure information systems; improve and create technologies for detecting and preventing attacks or intrusions; improve and create mitigation and recovery methodologies and development of resilient networks and information systems; support the review of source code that underpins critical infrastructure information systems; and assist the development, support, or deployment of technologies for industrial control systems, cyber forensics, attack attribution capabilities, full information lifecycle security technologies, information security measures and perimeter-based protections, detection of improper information access by authorized users, cryptography, assurance that software is free from vulnerabilities and functioning as intended, automatic updates of software and firmware, and identification of unidentified or future threats. The Under Secretary shall: support projects carried out under this bill through their full life cycle; identify mature technologies that address existing or imminent cybersecurity gaps in public or private information systems and networks, protect sensitive information within and outside networks, identify and support necessary improvements, and introduce new cybersecurity technologies throughout the homeland security enterprise through partnerships and commercialization; and target federally funded cybersecurity research that demonstrates a high probability of successful transition to the commercial market within two years and that is expected to have a notable impact on information systems and networks. The bill: (1) extends the authority of the DHS to carry out a research and development projects pilot program until September 30, 2021; (2) requires a DHS component to obtain the DHS Secretary's approval before utilizing authority for such a project by providing a proposal that includes the rationale, funds to be spent, and expected outcome for the project; and (3) requires DHS's annual report on such program to include the extent of cost-sharing for projects among federal and nonfederal sources and the extent to which utilization of project authority has addressed a homeland security capability gap or threat to the homeland. DHS must develop training for acquisitions staff on the utilization of DHS's authority to enter into transactions (other than contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants) for research and development projects to ensure accountability and effective management of projects consistent with the Program Management Improvement Accountability Act.