US House Bill Proposes Assessment of Manual Operations for Critical Infrastructure During Cyber Attacks
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to create a public report for Members of Congress, allowing them to assess manual operations of critical infrastructure during cyber attacks. This measure responds to growing concerns about the escalating impact of cyber attacks on crucial infrastructures such as the electric grid, water systems, and pipelines. The urgency is heightened by increasing threats from adversarial nations such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, as well as state-affiliated groups, which pose significant risks to national and economic security.
According to the Industrial Cyber, introduced by U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, along with Rep. Seth Magaziner from the House Committee on Homeland Security last week, the Contingency Plan for Critical Infrastructure Act has been referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 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.
The Contingency Plan for Critical Infrastructure Act would require the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in collaboration with the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other sector risk management agencies, to deliver a joint sector-by-sector assessment to Congress.
