I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9768 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish within the Cyberse-
curity and Infrastructure Security Agency a Joint Cyber Defense Collabo-
rative, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 
Mr. SWALWELL (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 
within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
Agency a Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Joint Cyber Defense 
Collaborative Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT CYBER DEFENSE COL-
LABORATIVE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2216 of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 665b) is amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘JOINT 
CYBER PLANNING OFFICE’’ and inserting ‘‘JOINT 
CYBER DEFENSE COLLABORATIVE’’; 
(2) by striking subsection (a); 
(3) by redesignating subsections (b) through (f) 
as subsections (f) through (j), respectively; 
(4) by inserting before subsection (f), as so re-
designated, the following new subsections: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall maintain the 
‘Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative’ program (in this sec-
tion referred to as the ‘Collaborative’) to support enhanced 
public-private partnerships across critical infrastructure 
sectors for collective cyber defense operations, information 
sharing, and operational collaboration, and develop, for 
Federal and non-Federal entities, plans for cyber defense 
operations, including the development of a set of coordi-
nated actions to detect, prevent, limit, prepare for, miti-
gate, protect against, respond to, recover from, and build 
resilience to cybersecurity risks, security vulnerabilities, 
and incidents, and cybersecurity threats to, and incidents 
or active malicious cyber operations targeting, critical in-
frastructure or national interests. The Collaborative shall 
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be headed by a senior official of the Agency selected by 
the Director. 
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Collaborative shall carry out 
the following: 
‘‘(1) Maintain strategic, operational partner-
ships with entities and organizations with diverse cy-
bersecurity roles, expertise, and situational aware-
ness that will enhance the Agency’s situational 
awareness of cybersecurity risks, cybersecurity 
threats, and active malicious cyber operations, in-
cluding with cybersecurity and technology compa-
nies, critical infrastructure owners and operators, se-
curity researchers and academic institutions, non- 
governmental organizations, information system ven-
dors, manufacturers, and foreign government enti-
ties in accordance with subsection (c), and other en-
tities as appropriate. 
‘‘(2) Develop, for public and private sector enti-
ties, plans for cyber defense operations, including 
the development of a set of coordinated actions to 
support governmental and non-governmental entities 
to— 
‘‘(A) protect, detect, respond to, and re-
cover from cybersecurity risks, cybersecurity 
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threats, active malicious cyber operations, or in-
cidents; or 
‘‘(B) limit, mitigate, or defend against ac-
tive or anticipated malicious cyber operations 
that pose a potential risk to critical infrastruc-
ture or national security interests. 
‘‘(3) Develop plans for governmental and non- 
governmental entities, including cyber incident re-
sponse plans under 2210(c), plans relating to threat- 
focused campaigns, and plans to address long-term 
cybersecurity priorities. 
‘‘(4) Gather, analyze, synthesize, and rapidly 
share information relating to cybersecurity threats 
and warnings to inform collective cyber defense oper-
ations, either through direct engagement or through 
the sharing of cybersecurity guidance through indus-
try organizations to drive action across all stake-
holder communities. 
‘‘(5) Facilitate the development and publication 
of joint analyses with Government and non-govern-
ment partners, as well as international partners, as 
appropriate, regarding threat actors, cybersecurity 
risks, cybersecurity threats, active malicious cyber 
operations, and incidents within and across critical 
infrastructure sectors, to enhance awareness of ad-
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versary tactics, techniques, and procedures and pro-
vide recommendations for mitigation. 
‘‘(6) Utilizing mechanisms that enable confiden-
tial real-time information sharing and dissemination 
of technical products between the Collaborative and 
its partners. 
‘‘(7) Develop processes and procedures to rap-
idly share with non-governmental entities timely and 
actionable cyber threat intelligence and information 
from 
Government 
entities, 
including 
the 
Collaborative’s partners, for purposes of informing 
joint activities within the Collaborative, as well as 
proactive defense actions to defend critical infra-
structure and non-Federal networks. 
‘‘(8) Establish, as appropriate, focused initia-
tives designed to respond to significant, emergent, or 
evolving cybersecurity risks or cybersecurity threats 
to, or active malicious cyber operations targeting, 
critical infrastructure sectors or technologies, includ-
ing industrial control systems. 
‘‘(9) Develop plans for cyber defense operations 
for Federal Government and non-Federal Govern-
ment entities, as well as plans to respond to specific 
cybersecurity risks, cybersecurity threats, active ma-
licious cyber operations, or threat actors. 
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‘‘(10) Identify information and intelligence gaps 
related to cybersecurity risks, cybersecurity threats, 
active malicious cyber operations, and threat actors. 
‘‘(11) Such other activities as the Director de-
termines appropriate to enhance the Agency’s ability 
to carry out its mission as described in subsection 
(a). 
‘‘(c) CHARTER.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Collaborative shall op-
erate pursuant to a charter, to be developed by the 
Director, that includes a description of each of the 
following: 
‘‘(A) The organization and structure of the 
Collaborative, as well as the relationship be-
tween the Collaborative and existing Agency in-
formation sharing functions, such programs 
within the national cybersecurity and commu-
nications integration center established pursu-
ant to section 2209, and the manner in which 
the Collaborative will engage, coordinate with, 
and support other Agency divisions and pro-
grams. 
‘‘(B) The core capabilities the Collabo-
rative will provide. 
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‘‘(C) How the Collaborative will prioritize, 
refine, develop, and mature existing and future 
capabilities to address significant, emergent, or 
evolving 
cybersecurity 
risks, 
cybersecurity 
threats, active malicious cyber operations, and 
incidents. 
‘‘(D) The policies and procedures that will 
be used to govern the Collaborative, including 
mechanisms and protocols to improve stake-
holder awareness of, and input into, Collabo-
rative activities, as well as procedures for noti-
fying Collaborative partners about changes in 
membership. 
‘‘(E) Policies governing the collection, use, 
dissemination, and retention of information re-
lating to cybersecurity threats provided to or 
developed by the Collaborative, consistent with 
the protections established in sections 105 and 
106 of the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. 
1504 and 1505; enacted as division N of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (Public 
Law 114–113)). 
‘‘(F) Criteria to be used in selecting focus 
areas, activities, and initiatives the Collabo-
rative will pursue, with procedures requiring 
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new initiatives to cite relevant portions of the 
Charter, relevant criteria, and other factors 
used to support such selection. 
‘‘(G) A description of the types or cat-
egories of partnerships in which the Collabo-
rative will engage. 
‘‘(H) Procedures governing the selection of 
partner organizations and terms of such part-
nerships, including the following: 
‘‘(i) The different partnership models 
the Collaborative plans to offer, depending 
on the type of potential partner an organi-
zation is, the role and function of a poten-
tial partner organization within the cyber 
ecosystem, the type of expertise and situa-
tional awareness a potential partner orga-
nization is able to provide, and the type of 
support or information sharing a potential 
partner organization is seeking from such 
a partnership. 
‘‘(ii) The criteria to be used in the se-
lection of governmental and non-govern-
mental entities with which the Collabo-
rative will partner. 
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‘‘(iii) A clearly defined process for any 
prospective partner to apply to join the 
Collaborative, which shall be posted on the 
Agency’s website. 
‘‘(iv) A process for evaluating foreign 
entity participation. 
‘‘(v) A process for alerting Collabo-
rative partners of new partners, including 
foreign entities. 
‘‘(H) Administrative management policies 
to facilitate regular communication between the 
Collaborative and its partners, including desig-
nating Collaborative liaisons to support the ad-
ministrative needs of Collaborative partners. 
‘‘(I) The types of assessments, guidance, 
reports, and other products the Collective will 
release to partners and the public, as well as 
the anticipated frequency with which such prod-
ucts will be published. 
‘‘(J) Performance metrics that will be used 
evaluate the effectiveness of the Collaborative 
and its activities, and track progress on specific 
focus areas and initiatives. 
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‘‘(2) 
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
developing 
the 
charter described in paragraph (1), the Director 
shall consider the following: 
‘‘(A) Building and maintaining trust with 
and among partners of the Collaborative. 
‘‘(B) Costs to partners associated with 
participation in the Collaborative. 
‘‘(C) The potential of the Collaborative’s 
activities to reduce cybersecurity risks and cy-
bersecurity threats to, or active malicious cyber 
operations targeting, partners of the Collabo-
rative, and entities that are not partners of the 
Collaborative. 
‘‘(D) Appropriate mechanisms to assess 
collaboration with foreign entities or foreign- 
owned entities. 
‘‘(d) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Di-
rector shall establish a Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative 
Advisory Council, comprised of 25 representatives of Col-
laborative partners with diverse cybersecurity and critical 
infrastructure roles, expertise, and situational awareness, 
to inform the development of the charter described in 
paragraph (1) (and any updates thereto) and provide rec-
ommendations on initiatives for the Collaborative to un-
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dertake. The Director shall seek such recommendations 
from partners of the Collaborative, and appoint members 
to the Advisory Council, on a rotational basis, for a period 
of not more than two years. No Member of the Cybersecu-
rity Advisory Committee under section 2219 may serve on 
the Advisory Council. 
‘‘(e) PARTNER ORGANIZATION VIEWS.—The Director 
shall establish a mechanism to receive the views of partner 
organizations regarding the activities of the Collaborative, 
and, in addition, accept voluntary annual evaluations from 
sector coordinating councils with members that are part-
ners of the Collaborative. Any such evaluations shall by 
shared by the Director with the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate. 
‘‘(f) NO RIGHT OR BENEFIT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The provision of assistance 
or information to, and inclusion in the Collaborative, 
or any activity of the Collaborative, of any govern-
mental or non-governmental entity under this section 
shall be at the discretion of the Director. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The provision of certain as-
sistance or information to, or inclusion in the Col-
laborative, or any activity of the Collaborative, pur-
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suant to this section shall not create a right or ben-
efit, whether substantive or procedural, to similar 
assistance or information for any other govern-
mental or non-governmental entity. 
‘‘(g) IMPLEMENTATION.—For any action taken to 
implement this section, the following shall not apply: 
‘‘(1) Chapter 35 of title 44, United States 
Code. 
‘‘(2) Chapter 10 of title 5, United States 
Code.’’; 
(5) in subsection (g), as so redesignated— 
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by striking ‘‘Office’’ and inserting ‘‘Collabo-
rative’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘plan-
ning’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 
the period and inserting a semicolon; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(G) the Department of State; and 
‘‘(H) the Central Intelligence Agency.’’; 
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(6) in subsection (h), as so redesignated, in the 
matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘re-
sponsibilities’’ and inserting ‘‘functions’’; 
(7) in subsection (i), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(g)’’; and 
(8) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(k) SUNSET.—This section shall expire on the date 
that is five years after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection.’’. 
(b) STRATEGY; ANNUAL BRIEFINGS; INFORMATION 
POLICY.— 
(1) CHARTER.—Not later than 120 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
Agency of the Department of Homeland Security 
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate the charter for the Joint Cyber 
Defense Collaborative developed pursuant to sub-
section (c) of section 2216 of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 665b), as amended by this 
section, and shall make such charter publicly avail-
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able in the Federal Register within seven days after 
such submission to Congress. 
(2) STRATEGY.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
Agency of the Department of Homeland Security 
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate a strategy describing the key pri-
orities, objectives, and milestones of the Joint Cyber 
Defense Collaborative under section 2216 of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 665b), as 
amended by this section, as well as plans to carry 
out such objectives and metrics that will be used to 
evaluate effectiveness and sustain operations over 
time. The Director may, as appropriate, submit to 
such Committees any legislative proposals for new 
authorities the Collaborative needs to carry out its 
mission. 
(3) ANNUAL BRIEFINGS.—Not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
annually thereafter, the Director of the Cybersecu-
rity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the De-
partment of Homeland Security shall provide to the 
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Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a 
briefing on the activities of the Joint Cyber Defense 
Collaborative under section 2216 of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 665b), as amended 
by this section. 
(4) INFORMATION ACCESS AND SECURITY POL-
ICY.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Cyberse-
curity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the De-
partment of Homeland Security shall issue a policy 
regarding how information shared with the Joint 
Cyber Defense Collaborative under section 2216 of 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
665b), as amended by this section, may be used, in-
cluding among different participants within the Col-
laborative, as well as restrictions on the use of infor-
mation, including prohibitions on sharing informa-
tion with governmental and non-governmental enti-
ties based in or controlled by countries the intel-
ligence community (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 
U.S.C. 3003(4)) has identified as a foreign adver-
sary in its most recent Annual Threat Assessment or 
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