The House of Representatives on Dec. 1 approved a pair of cybersecurity bills, along with a bill that would create a task force to study the future of 6G wireless technologies.
All three bills passed by large bipartisan margins on motions to suspend the rules for their passage.
The cybersecurity bills would look to boost the nation’s cybersecurity literacy, and get more information on the current cybersecurity of mobile networks.
The trio of bills all made their way to full House passage, after being approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July.
Cyber Literacy and Mobile Network Visibility
The House passed the American Cybersecurity Literacy Act and the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act by margins of 408-17 and 404-19, respectively, signaling broad support for the pair of bills.
The American Cybersecurity Literacy Act would establish a national cybersecurity literacy campaign to help citizens understand how to mitigate cyber risks by teaching them how to identify phishing attempts, the benefits of changing passwords, using multi-factor authentication, and more.
Meanwhile, the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act directs the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit a report to Congress on the current cybersecurity of mobile networks and any vulnerabilities.
“Offensive cyber operations conducted by America’s adversaries and cyber criminals are growing more prevalent and more sophisticated by the day,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, D-Ill., sponsor of the American Cybersecurity Literacy Act and original co-sponsor for the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act, said in a release.
“More must be done to push back, and I’m pleased to see two of my bipartisan cybersecurity bills pass the House with overwhelming support today,” Rep. Kinzinger added. “Taken together, these bills will strengthen our cyber posture by educating the public about best practices to keep them more secure, and by identifying vulnerabilities in our mobile telecommunications networks and infrastructure.”
FUTURE Networks Act
The Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced (FUTURE) Networks Act would create a task force at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to create a 6G task force composed of representatives from the Federal government, State and local governments, the telecommunications industry, and academia.
The task force would submit a report within a year on industry standards for 6G wireless communications, as well as any limitations or weaknesses they identify over the course of the year. The report would also cover any possible uses of the technologies, as well as how to best work with them across governments.
The bill passed the House by a 394-27 margin.
