,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #idj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #g1 #bjag,ms4 ,jackson ,lee introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security ,a ,,bill ,to secure communications of utilities from terrorist threats1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,securing ,communications of ,utilities from ,terrorist ,threats or the ,,scouts ,act 4 #b4 ,policy 7a7 ,security and resilience ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 in coordination with the sector-specific agencies1 may work with critical infrastructure owners and operators and ,state1 local1 tribal1 and territorial entities to seek voluntary participation of such agencies to determine how the ,department of ,homeland ,security can best serve the sector-specific cybersecurity needs to manage risk and strengthen the security and resilience of the ,nation's critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks that could have a debilitating impact on national security1 economic stability1 public health and safety1 or any combination thereof4 7b7 ,objectives ,in implementing subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall seek to reduce vulnerabilities1 minimize consequences1 identify and disrupt terrorism threats1 and hasten response and recovery efforts related to impacted critical infrastructures4 7c7 ,investigation of best means ,to engage owners and operators ,the ,secretary1 in coordination with the sector-specific agencies1 may investigate the best means for engaging sector-specific agencies in participation in a voluntary cybersecurity information sharing1 emergency support1 and emerging threat awareness program4 7d7 ,listening opportunity ,the ,secretary shall establish voluntary opportunities for sector-specific agencies and critical infrastructure owners and operators to inform the ,department of ,homeland ,security of sector-specific challenges to cybersecurity1 including regarding-- 7#a7 what needs they may have or may not have regarding critical infrastructure protection2 and 7#b7 how the ,department of ,homeland ,security is or is not helping to meet those needs that have been identified1 through voluntary participation4 7e7 ,,gao report ,the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall report to the ,congress by not later than #f months after the date of the enactment of this ,act on the views1 experiences1 and preferences of critical infrastructure owners and operators regarding the benefits of engaging in voluntary cybersecurity incident reporting1 intelligence gathering1 and technical support resources provided by the ,department of ,homeland ,security4 7f7 ,international partners ,the ,secretary shall1 in consultation with appropriate ,federal agencies1 establish terrorism prevention policy to engage with international partners to strengthen the security and resilience of domestic critical infrastructure and critical infrastructure located outside of the ,united ,states1 or in its territorial waters1 on which the ,nation depends4 #c4 ,strategic imperatives 7a7 ,research and report on the most efficient means for information exchange by identifying baseline data and systems requirements for the ,federal government ,the ,secretary shall facilitate the timely exchange of terrorism threat and vulnerability information as well as information that allows for the development of a situational awareness capability for ,federal civilian agencies during terrorist incidents4 ,the goal of such facilitation is to enable efficient information exchange through the identification of requirements for data and information formats and accessibility1 system interoperability1 and redundant systems and alternate capabilities should there be a disruption in the primary systems4 7b7 ,implementation of an integration and analysis function ,to inform planning and operational decisions regarding the protection of critical infrastructure from terrorism events ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall implement an integration and analysis function for critical infrastructure that includes operational and strategic analysis on terrorism incidents1 threats1 and emerging risks4 ,such function shall include establishment by the ,secretary of integration of data sharing capabilities with ,fusion ,centers that accomplish the following3 7#a7 ,determine the appropriate role that ,fusion ,centers may fill in reporting data related to cybersecurity threat or incident information regarding individuals or service providers with access to or ongoing business relationships with critical infrastructure4 7#b7 ,determine whether or how the ,national ,protection and ,programs ,directorate and the ,national ,cybersecurity and ,communications ,integration ,center may work with ,fusion ,centers to report possible cybersecurity incidents4 7#c7 ,determine a means for ,fusion ,centers to report availability of critical infrastructure to support local1 ,state1 ,federal1 tribal1 and territorial law enforcement and the provision of basic public services after disruption events such as electric power brownouts and blackouts1 accidents that disrupt service1 and vandalism to or near facilities4 7#d7 ,categorize and prioritize cybersecurity intake risk information based on relevance to critical infrastructure owners or operators in the area served by the ,fusion ,center4 7#e7 ,establish an emerging threat hotline and secure online sector-specific cybersecurity incident reporting portal by which information may be disseminated through ,fusion ,centers4 7#f7 ,develop1 keep up to date1 and make available a ,federal agency directory of designated offices or individuals tasked with responding to1 mitigating1 or assisting in recovery from cybersecurity incidents involving critical infrastructure and make the directory available on a voluntary basis to critical infrastructure owners and operators4 7#g7 ,establish a voluntary incident access portal with the ability to allow users to determine the means1 methods1 and level of incident reporting that is sector-specific and relevant to the recipient as defined and controlled by the recipient4 7#h7 ,gather voluntary feedback from critical infrastructure owners and operators on the value1 relevance1 and timeliness of the information received1 which shall include how they believe information and the means used to disseminate that information might be improved4 7#i7 ,report to ,congress every #b years on the voluntary participation of critical infrastructure owners and operators in the programs established under this title4 7#aj7 ,implement a capability to collate1 assess1 and integrate vulnerability and consequence information with threat streams and hazard information to-- 7,a7 evaluate the impact of cybersecurity and cyberphysical impacts of critical physical assets2 7,b7 aid in prioritizing assets and managing risks to critical infrastructure in impacted areas2 7,c7 determine1 through the voluntary cooperation of critical infrastructure owners and operators1 the staffing and professional need for cybersecurity critical infrastructure protection with ,fusion ,centers2 7,d7 determine1 through coordination with the sector-specific agencies1 the agency staffing needed to support cybersecurity critical infrastructure protection and report the findings to ,congress2 7,e7 research and report findings regarding the feasibility of exploring terrorist incident correlations between critical infrastructure damage1 destruction1 and diminished capacity1 and what occurs during certain natural disasters2 7,f7 anticipate interdependencies and cascading impacts related to cyber telecommunications failures2 7,g7 recommend security and resilience measures for critical infrastructure prior to1 during1 and after a terrorism event or incident2 7,h7 evaluate interdependencies and cascading impacts related to electric grid failures2 7,i7 support post-terrorism incident management and restoration efforts related to critical infrastructure2 and 7,j7 make recommendations on preventing the collapse or serious degrading of the telecommunication capability in an area impacted by a terrorism event4 7#aa7 ,support the ,department of ,homeland ,security's ability to maintain and share1 as a common ,federal service1 a near real-time situational awareness capability for critical infrastructure that includes actionable information about imminent terrorist threats1 significant trends1 and awareness of incidents that may impact critical infrastructure4 #d4 ,definitions ,for purposes of this ,act3 7#a7 ,critical infrastructure ,the term critical infrastructure means systems and assets1 whether physical or virtual1 so vital to the ,united ,states that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security1 national economic security1 national public health or safety1 or any combination of those matters4 7#b7 ,resilience ,the term resilience means the ability to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions and withstand and recover rapidly from disruptions4 ,the term includes the ability to withstand and recover from deliberate attacks1 accidents1 or naturally occurring threats or incidents4 7#c7 ,sector-specific agency ,the term sector-specific agency means a ,federal department or agency designated as a ,sector-,specific ,agency by ,presidential ,policy ,directive #ba1 relating to ,critical ,infrastructure ,security and ,resilience4 7#d7 ,security ,the term security means reducing the risk to critical infrastructure by physical means or defense cyber measures to intrusions1 attacks1 or the effects of terrorist intrusions or attacks4