U.S. House passes cybersecurity R&D bill
By Grant Gross February 4, 2010 02:22 PM ET
IDG News Service – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would authorize hundreds of millions of dollars in spending on cybersecurity research and education.
The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act would give $395 million to the U.S. National Science Foundation to fund several cybersecurity research projects between this year and 2014.
The NSF would also get $108.7 million over five years for a cybersecurity scholarship program, in which recipients would be required to serve as a cybersecurity professional in the U.S. government after graduating from college. Bachelor’s and master’s degree students could get up to two years of scholarship money, and doctoral students could get three years, but students would have to serve in the federal government for the same number of years they received scholarships.
The bill, which passed Thursday by a vote of 422 to 5, also requires U.S. agencies to work together to come up with a strategic research and development plan for cybersecurity needs, focused on “innovative, transformational technologies.” The bill also requires the White House Office of Science and Technology to convene a task force on how to collaborate with colleges and private business on cybersecurity research and development.
Rep. Daniel Lipinski, an Illinois Democrat and prime sponsor of the bill, said the bill is important because U.S. government Web sites are under constant attack. “Cybercrime is a problem for businesses large and small and for every single American,” he said on the House floor Wednesday.